The Taken
by Shon-Shon
Summary: The Lima police are now searching for 3 missing tennagers. Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, and Mercedes Jones were last seen less than 24 hours ago, after performing at a show choir competition. There's no information on suspects. If you have any information, please contact the Lima Police Department.
1. Chapter 1

Brittany sat against a wall, with her knees tucked under her chin. She was too scared to think positive. She didn't know where she was, or what would happen. Staring off into the darkness she began to think of what put her here.

* * *

"I know we didn't win, but we were amazing." Mercedes acknowledged, as she sat down next to her Troubletone sisters. "Now, stop pouting. I promised Breadstix, win or lose. I keep my promises." The gloomy girls cheered up for dinner.

After dinner Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany watched Sugar climb into the back of a car and drive off.

"Come on, Britt." Santana linked her and Brittany's pinkies. "I'll take you home."

Brittany nodded and waved goodbye to Mercedes.

As they reach the other side of the parking lot, they hear a loud scream for help. As the screaming continued, they realised it was from Mercedes. The two girls began to run to their friend. Santana, running faster than Brittany, was quickly grabbed by a large figure.

"Brittany, run." Santana yelled, struggling to escape the stranger's grip.

Brittany obeyed Santana without hesitation. Running away from the scene, she was tossed to the ground. Before Brittany was able to defend herself or call for help, her mouth and nose was covered by a piece of cloth.

That's the last of last night that she could remember. When she woke up she was she was surrounded by darkness.

Suddenly a door was opened, and beams of light shined into the room. Brittany looked around her setting. The light allowed her to notice that Santana, and Mercedes was in the room with her. Brittany's fear grew, noticing both girls were unconscious. Brittany looks away, fighting tears from the thoughts that crowded her mind. A dark figure formed in the beam of light resting on the ground.

The figure moved inside the room. Brittany's eye's widen as the figure moved towards her. By the time the figure was in front of her, she had her head buried in her lap.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." The speaker sat on the ground in front of Brittany. Brittany slowly looked up. She could see the figure was a guy with brown hair hanging over his brown eyes. "What's your name?" he asked. Not receiving an answer, he decided to introduce himself. "I'm Wren."

"Brittany." She softly answered.

Wren nodded and reached into his pocket. "I know you're scared." He removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a snack bar. He pushed the bar slowly across the floor, between him and Brittany. Brittany didn't move. "You shouldn't be. Nothing bad will happen. I..."

"What the hell are you doing?" Another figure appeared in the door. His voice caused Brittany to jump. "Get out of here." He ordered, and Wren rose and slid by the figure. "Wake up." He yelled, slamming his hand against the wall, causing Mercedes and Santana to jump awake.

"What the hell?" Santana questioned sitting up. Noticing the blonde standing over her, she stands up, ready to fight.

The guy showed no fear as he and Santana stared each other down. Not wanting to waste his time with the Latina, he pushes her back to the ground.

"You" he called to the dark skinned girl who tried to stay invisible "stand up." Mercedes slowly stood, without a word. He lifted her head, and studied the blood dripping from her forehead. "Come on." He grabbed her wrist and lead her to the door.

Mercedes's heartbeat rushed as he pulled her outside to a sunlit yard. As the guy turned to lock the door they just exited, she noticed they were locked in a shed. He turned and led her into a trailer home.

As they stepped inside, they were passed by another guy with curly black hair. The blonde quickly grabbed the guys by the arm and whispered in his ear. The curly haired guy rolled his eyes and lead Mercedes deeper into the trailer. Mercedes slowly followed the stranger through a door.

"Sit down." He pointed to the toilet, as he opened the mirror and removed a box. Mercedes cautiously obeyed.

He opened the box to reveal medical supplies. He kneels down to Mercedes. Mercedes looked at his green eyes as he focused on medicating her wound. Minutes later he stands and signals for Mercedes to follow him out of the bathroom.

"Connor" Wren called the curly haired stranger by name. "Is she ok?" He move close to Mercedes's face to study the bandage on her forehead.

"It's a small gash." He answered, pushing Wren out of Mercedes's face. "She'll live." He opened the door and pulled Mercedes back to the shed.

Mercedes stepped inside and saw Brittany crying into Santana's lap. Her vision was blackened as Connor closed and locked the door. Mercedes blindly wondered to where she remembered her friends to be. Mercedes sat and began to rub Brittany's back.

"It's going to be ok." Santana comforted Brittany.

"No, it won't." Brittany continued to cry.

Mercedes tried to maintain a steady speed on Brittany's back, as she processed the situation. "We'll get out of here." Mercedes spoke, but in her mind; she was unsure.

* * *

Connor stepped inside the trailer and discovered the other guys quietly watching the TV.

"The Lima police are now searching for 3 missing teenagers" a news reporter explained. "Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, and Mercedes Jones were last seen enjoying dinner at Breadstix after performing for a show choir competition less than 24 hours ago. There's no information on suspects. If you have any information, please contact the Lima Police Department."

Wren switched the television off, and turned on the coach. "What are we going to do?" He asked the blonde standing against the wall.

"We leave Lima." He answered.

"It's not that simple." Connor yelled. "We have kidnapped 3 girls, and their families have money. They're going to find us."

"We leave Lima." He repeated, moving to stand in front if Connor. "We leave tomorrow. Everything's set." He walked out, leaving Wren and Connor in silence.

* * *

**Please review.**

**This is my first fiction that's not based on a movie, so your comments would be loved :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The three girls were woken from their sleep by the door slamming open. The blonde kidnapper entered, slamming the door behind him.

"We're going somewhere" he stated tying Santana's wrist with rope. "Don't say anything." After tying each girl's wrist he lead them outdoors.

Santana and Brittany almost fell over, being blinded by the light. Standing in a line the girls were able to get a good look at their kidnappers. All the guys looked to be in their early 20's.

Wren moved towards the girls, and give each rope a small tug. "They're too tight, Dustin."

The blonde turned and looked Wren up and down. "If you untie them and they get away, I will beat your ass." Dustin walked away, leaving Wren to retire the ropes.

* * *

After hours of riding silently with their kidnappers, they pull up to a house. The house was hidden behind a forest of trees. The girls were rushed out of the vehicle and rushed inside. They're taken upstairs and untied in an attic.

Santana listened to the guys lock the door and walk downstairs. "We have to get out of here." She started, moving towards the only window. Mercedes and Santana try to push the window up, but the girls failed.

"It won't open." Mercedes threw her hands up. "We're going to get out, but now that way." She scanned the room for a moment. "Let's try this." She said holding up a weight. Ready to throw the weight, she froze hearing the door open.

"You can't break the window." Wren explained, standing in the doorway. He moved to sit a pan of meat on the table. "Eat up." He smirked. All three girls started between him and the mystery meat. "It's safe. See." He breaks a piece of meat and eats it. The girls continued to watch him. He shrugged and moved back towards the door. "I guess you'll eat when you are ready." He relocked the door.

As the sound of footsteps disappeared, Brittany collapsed to the floor. Santana and Mercedes rushed to their weeping friend.

"It's going to be ok, Britt." Mercedes pulled the girl to her chest. "We're going to get out, and everyone's going to SO happy to see us." Mercedes felt a tear escape her own eye. "Lord Tubbington will throw you a welcome home party." Mercedes continued talking until she heard the skinny blonde softly snoring in her arms. "What are you doing?" Mercedes loudly whispered, watching the Latina stand.

"I'm getting the hell out of here." She admitted, searching around the room. Using a loose nail from the floor, she picked the lock fit for a skellington key. "Get Britt, and come on." She peeked through the cracked door then turned back to her friend who showed no sign of moving. "Come on." She repeated herself.

"No." Mercedes denied. "Who knows what would happen if we got caught."

"We don't know what would happen if we stay."

"I would take that chance."

Santana rolled her eyes, and stepped out the room, leaving her friends behind. After tiptoeing down the flight of stairs she reached a long hall. Unsure of the directions out, she turned left. Walking down the endless hall, she hears a door open. Scared of being caught, she hurried into the closest room. She breathed slowly, listening to footsteps pass the door.

Unsure if she should leave the room, she turned from the door to study her surroundings. Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. Santana moved to study the scene closer.

The walls were covered by pictures of Mercedes. Picture of her with her friends and family. The photos moved around the room like a timeline. It began with the New Directions performing at nationals, and ended with the Troubletones at sectionals. All the pictures were taken at a distance, as if the photographer didn't want to be seen.

"What are you doing in here?" Santana became paralyzed by the voice. "You weren't suppose to leave the room upstairs" Wren stated, reaching for Santana's arm to take her back to the attic.

"What the hell is this?" She asked, pulling away from the brown haired kidnapper.

"I can't tell. Come on." He pulled her out the room by her wrist. "You could get in a lot of trouble" He whispered lead her up the stairs. He sped up the stairs, hearing a low yowl escape the attic through the cracked door.

In the attic Mercedes howled from pain. She struggled to shake her wrist free of the large unknown guy. The buzzed cut brunette tightened his grip as Mercedes continued to fight. She looked down at his hands, trying to avoid looking into his cold, brown eyes.

Wren rushed over and wrapped his arm around the guy's neck. After pulling him away from Mercedes, Wren rushed to stand between them. He held his arm out, stopping the guy from coming any closer.

"Leave her alone" he ordered causing the angry guy to storm out the room and slam the door behind him. "Are you ok? What happened?" Wren asked, reaching for the wrists of the watered eyed girl. "You can tell me."

"Mercedes, tell me what happened." Santana turned her friend towards her.

"He tried to hurt Brittany" Mercedes answered with sniffles. The pain still lingered under the dark bruises. "I pulled him away from her, and he starts yelling."

"Don't worry." Wren reached to Mercedes, but backed away as she flinched. "I'm gonna handle him." He announced, walking towards the door.

* * *

"What the hell, Jason?" Wren yelled, storming into the room with the three other guys.

Connor rushed to stop Wren. "Chill." He yells at his squirming friend. He was clueless to what Wren was mad about, but he didn't want to see a fight.

"Stay away from them. Don't go ANYWHERE near them." Wren knew how short tempered Jason could be. He didn't want any of the girl hurt.

Jason released a snicker. "I don't have to listen to a damn thing you say. Isn't it time for your nap, youngster." He joked before walking out the room. As he passed Wren, he slapped him in the back of the head. "You're so damn weak."


	3. Chapter 3

It's been three days since the girls been locked away. The only kidnappers that come into the attic were Wren and Connor. Connor comes to check on them and bring them their meal that goes untouched. Wren tried to get the girls to talk with him. The one sided conversations don't change his action. He visited almost every 3 hours.

"I understand you don't want to talk. I'm gonna go." He stood, after another failed attempt to create conversation. "I'll try again later" he mumbled to himself, pulling the door close.

"He's being nice" Brittany pointed, feeling bad for making Wren feel uncomfortable. "We could talk to him."

Mercedes and Santana didn't respond to Brittany.

Mercedes turned to Santana. "Did you get it" she asked.

Santana lifted a cell phone in the air. "You learn a lot when you grow up in Lima Heights." When Wren was distracted, she pickpocketed him for his phone. She hands the phone to Brittany. Mercedes and Santana promised Brittany the first call if she didn't act suspicious.

Brittany takes the phone and began to dial a number. Before she pressed 'Send' to make the call she hears loud footsteps coming up to the attic. Santana took the phone from Brittany and hid it behind her back before the door opened.

Dustin entered, and slammed the door behind him. "Who wants to go home" Destin asked. The girls stared at him, believing it was a trick. "I'm gonna take one of you back to Lima, so who's it gonna be?"

Mercedes built up enough courage to speak out. "How do we know you're not planning to kill who ever goes with you?"

"I'm not interested in killing you" he stated as he leaned against the closed door and judged the girls before him. "How about you?" He tilts his head at Brittany. "You're crying every damn minute, so I know you want to leave."

Brittany shook her head and softly whispered "no." She feared if what Mercedes had said was true. She didn't want to die. She didn't want any of her friends to die.

"I'll take you back to Lima. I won't tie you. I won't put you to sleep" he listed. "I'll just take you home." He promised, beginning a long silence.

"Britt, you have to go." Santana turned to the blonde quietly sitting. Out of the 3 girls, Brittany was the weakest. She cries herself to sleep every night, and Santana couldn't let someone she loved suffer that way. "But, if I find out that you hurt her," She looks Dustin straight in his eyes "I will..."

"No you wouldn't" Dustin interrupted. "Come on" he ordered.

Brittany slowly walked to Dustin. She turned and waved to her Troubletone sisters that put her first. She was thankful for them. Brittany was about to say something but was interrupted.

"Come on." Dustin opened the door and exited, leaving Brittany to follow freely behind.

* * *

"When youre back in Lima you can't talk about this to anyone" Dustin explained as he, Wren, and Brittany walked through the forest. "If you tell ANYONE, I will come back for you."

Wren shook his head, knowing Dustin wouldn't take the time to go back to get Brittany. Wren stopped walking, realising her was walking alone. He turned to see Dustin pointing a gun at him.

"What's going on" he asked, eyeing the gun. "You're really gonna kill me?"

Dustin shook his head "No." He shoved the gun into Brittany's hand. "She is."

Brittany's eyes grew at Dustin's words. She couldn't kill a person. Wren was alway nice to her and her friends, regardless of the fact that he kidnapped them. She couldn't do it.

"I can't." Brittany began to cry. "I cant do that."

"I could take you back to the house" Dustin reminded, lifting Brittany's arm to point the hand gun.

"She wont do it" Wren spoke. "She's a decent person who cares about people, Unlike you. You..."

Dustin snatched the gun from, Brittany, and pulled the trigger. Wren fell to his knees as the blood flowed through the hole in his upper stomach. Brittany covered her eyes, sickened by the sight of the lifeless body in front of her. Brittany peeked over her fingertips before fainting to the forest floor. Dustin shook his head at the unconscious girl, and lifted her over his shoulder to take her back to Lima.

* * *

Mercedes and Santana passed around the attic, hoping Brittany would be okay. Santana stopped and turn to Mercedes.

"We have to make the call." Santana pulled the cellphone from behind her back. She pressed send, calling the number Brittany had typed. Mercedes and Santanna's heads met as they listened to the phone ring.

"Hello" a male's voice answered on the other end of the phone.

"Oh my god." The girls smirked, recognizing the voice. "It's Mr. Schue."

"Mercedes" the worried teacher called. "Where are you? Where's Santana and Brittany?"

"We don't know where we are" Santana answered. "Brittany is going back to Lima. We need..."

Santana stopped talking, hearing the sound of footsteps behind the door. Mercedes shoved the phone into her pocket as the door opened.

"Santana" Mr. Schue called through Mercedes's back pocket. "What do you need? What is..." He stopped as the door closed with a loud slam.

"Come here" Jason ordered Mercedes, but she didn't move. "Get your ass over here" He yelled.

Mercedes slowly walked to him, but stopped with a gap between her and Jason. Jason yanked her closer to him, and crashed their lips together. Mercedes instantly began to squirm and push away, but his grip was too strong.

"Leave her the hell alone." Santana stepped forward. "Can't you tell she..." She stopped talking, felling Jason tightly holding onto he wrist.

Jason tightened his grip and stared angrily at the latina. "Shut the hell up." Noticing the attitude Santana showed in her eyes, he began to laugh. "I knew it. I knew you were a dyke the minute I saw you."

Santana parted her lips to make a sassy comment, but was slapped to the floor.

"San" Mercedes called. Mercedes took a step closer to Santana, but was pulled back. She waited for her friend to stand, but was disappointed learning her friend was unconscious. Mercedes felt Jason's hand roaming on her hips as he held her back from Santana. "Don't touch me." Mercedes used so much strength to pulled away, that she tripped.

"I thought you were smart." Jason reached down and grabbed the phone hanging out off Mercedes pocket. Noticing there was a caller on the other end, he placed the phone at his ear. "Who are you?"

"Let them go. They're just kids" Mr. Schue spoke.

Jason looked down to Mercedes. He threw the phone against the wall, breaking it into several pieces. He kneeled down to Mercedes. "You will..." He was interrupted by another phone ringing. "Don't think I'm letting this go." He stood, and walked out the room. "What" He questioned, answering his phone.

"I wont be back til tomorrow" Dustin admitted, driving.

"Why not? The drive is only a few hours."

"Because, I want to come back tomorrow" Dustin argued. "Don't fuck anything up" he ordered before hanging up.

* * *

**please excuse my grammar errors if there are any. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The previous chapter has been changed a little. Nothing major so you could reread or not. It doesn't seem so "rushed." I took this story offline for at least 3 days. I apologize if you were following or had this story favorite, and it was removed. I promise this story is here to stay now.**

* * *

Santana finally woke with her head in Mercedes's lap. She tried to sit up, but gave up after feeling a sharp pain strike through her head.

"Mercedes, wake up." Santana pulled on her sleeping friend's arm. Mercedes slowly woke. "Help" she asked and Mercedes slowly lifted the girl from her lap and leaned her against the wall beside her. Santana blanked rapidly as the room spun around her.

Mercedes pulled Santana's head onto her shoulder. "We can't do this. We have to get out of here" Mercedes weakly stated. "San, please say you have an idea in that evil mind of yours."

Santana sat quietly.

* * *

"Time to wake up" Jason yelled, shaking a can of beer. He opened the can, and the cold drink explodes on the boy sleeping in the chair.

"What the hell." Connor felt the liquid running from the end of his curls to his face. "You're such a dumbass."

Jason shrugged, and drunk from his half full beer can. "Feeding time." He dropped a pan of meat in Connor's lap.

Connor stood from the chair and took the meat to the girls in the attic.

As Connor placed the pan, he watched Mercedes hold her arm awkwardly. "What's wrong?" He asked, walking to Mercedes. As he kneeled down, Mercedes shook her head and tucked her arm closer to her. "Let me see your arm" He ordered, slowly untangling Mercedes's arm.

"It hurts" Mercedes mumbled between groans.

"Just relax." He slowly rubbed circles into her elbow. After repeatedly stretching and folding Mercedes's arm, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Better?" He smiled as Mercedes nodded. He brushed Mercedes's hair behind her ear before standing. "Are you ok?" He asked, looking at the Latina in the corner. Santana nodded. Knowing everyone was ok, Connor closed and locked the door, or he thought.

"Amazing performance" Santana laughed, moving to open the door.

While Mercedes kept Connor busy, Santana rigged the door. She placed a piece of tape over the lock. The door closed, but didn't lock.

The girls quietly wandered down the hall. Their feet were powered by the freedom they had the week before. Reality hit when they remembered they didn't know where the stairs to the first floor were. One of the many doors opened, and Mercedes and Santana rushed to hide into a room.

The room the girls chose looked like a bedroom. There was a large bed against a dark painted wall. The dresser had multiple empty beer cans and bottles. Santana walked closer to see a white substance carefully lined out. Touching the powder, she realized it was a drug.

"Hide" Mercedes whispered, using all her strength to hold the door close. "Santana, hide now" She repeated.

Santana hid under the bed before the door slammed open, and pushed Mercedes to the floor. Mercedes nervously looked up to see Jason standing in the doorway.

"I knew it wouldn't be long til you came to me." Jason smirked, pulling Mercedes up.

He threw his arm around Mercedes shoulders and pulled her into an aggressive kiss. Mercedes tried pushing him off and finally managed to punch him in the stomach.

He looked up infuriated then came at her forcefully. He shoved her to the ground, but quickly lifted her and shelved her to the wall. He threw a punch that hit the wall inches away from Mercedes's face. Mercedes opened her eyes to see Jason smirking.

"You look so sexy when you're scared." He laughed, before connecting their lips.

"Stop." Mercedes cried, feeling Jason hungrily sucking on her neck. She wanted to push him away, but he had her hands pinned to her side. "Stop it, please. You hurting..." She was cut off when Jason began to kiss her lips again.

Mercedes could feel his tongue trying to force pass between her tightly pressed lips. He roughly squeezed her butt causing her to gasp in pain. Taking the opportunity, he stuck his tongue in. Mercedes bit down on his tongue, causing him to yell in pain and back away from her. In a swift motion he slapped Mercedes to the floor and gave her a strong kick to the lower back.

Mercedes peeks over her arm to see Jason and Connor arguing. She couldn't hear over the ringing in her ear, but from the constant pointing she assumed she was the subject. She turned her head to look at Santana. She weakly shook her head, begging her to stay under the bed and stay quiet.

Connor helped Mercedes stand. He wrapped his arm around her midsection to help her walk up the stairs to the attic. He spoke to her, but she still couldn't hear. He sat her in a chair and studied her face.

"I'll go get you some ice." Mercedes finally heard Connor speak. Connor rushed out, promising to be back quickly.

Mercedes slowly stood, and walked to the full length mirror against the wall. She jumped at the image looking back at her. She could see the dark hand mark across her cheek and the hickey on her neck. She turned and lifted her shirt up to show the large dark spots in her ebony skin.

Connor finally returned with ice in a rag. When Connor placed the rag on Mercedes cheek she began to cry. Feeling sorry for her he pulled her to his shoulder. Too broken, Mercedes forgot Santana was still in Jason's room.

* * *

Santana continued to lay under the bed, shaken by what had happened to Mercedes minutes before. She tried her best to stay quiet, hearing Jason still in the room. Santana lied as still as possible, hoping he would be convinced.

"I know you're under there" Jason admitted. He reached under the bed, and pulled Santana out by her feet. She stood and watched Jason closely as he bent over the dresser and sniffed the white drug. "Don't worry. I like my women to be real." He poked Santana's chest.

Santana slapped his hand away from her. Jason grabbed her hair and dragged her out the room. He released her as they entered another room. Santana looked around to notice she was in the room with the pictures of Mercedes.

"You're a freak." Santana yelled.

"I would shout you, but your blood would mess up my pictures." Jason smirks at a picture. "Why don't you tell me a little about Mercedes, and I'll pretend that I don't know already."

"Go to hell."

He laughed and turned to the girl. "She's the reason you're here. We want her. You're just someone in the way." he admitted. "I said I wouldn't shoot you, but I know other ways to kill..."

"Do it. I rather die standing than bend over for your dumb ass. I'm not telling you shit." She looked him up and down, disgusted. "You're a sick bast..."

She was cut of by Jason's hands wrapped around her neck. He wrapping his hands tighter with every second. Her vision blurred as he continued his attempt to suffocate her. She blacked out with his hands still around her neck.

* * *

**Please review.**

**I wanna thank my Bata for writing this chapter. She was given no limits, but to get the main points across and I believe she did a pretty great job.**


	5. Chapter 5

The sunlight from the window burned Santana's sleepy eyes. She was wrapped in Mercedes arms, listening to her hum a song. Santana had a heated debate if she should tell what Jason said.

"Mercedes," Santana pulled out of Mercedes's hug. "Do you owe those guys something?" She tried to take a settle approach.

Mercedes shook her head no. "I didn't even know them. What about you."

"This isn't about me." Her statement caused Mercedes to scrunch her eyebrows in. "The idiot said they were after you the night we were taken. Thank really hard about these guys."

Mercedes racked her brain for acknowledgement of the guys, but came up with nothing.

* * *

"We're almost out of money" Connor announced after counting the money they were given.

"We would have more if someone didn't decide to take a damn vacation" Jason accused.

"Shut the fuck up. I had some shit to handle." Dustin arrived late the night before.

"What are we going to do?" Connor began to recount the money.

"We could make good for the girls" Jason spoke. "Real men love their women thick, and she's the perfect little package. But, the other one could be good once I break her down."

"No" Connor yelled, catching onto what was said. "That's called human trafficking, dumbass. You're not dragging me into that." He snatched the money up and began to storm off

"Grow a fuckin pair. They already think you're weak."

Connor turned and angrily glared at Jason. "Fuck you."

"I can get Mercedes to do that" He smirked.

"Stay away from them" Connor stated. He stormed out the room before Jason could make another comeback.

* * *

The girls watched the door rush open. Connor stepped in and closed the door. He shoves a chair under the knob and move to the girls.

"Don't say anything" He ordered, joining them on the floor. "I have to get you out of here" He admitted, reaching in his pocket. He pulled out a sheet of paper and a red and blue pen.

"Wh..."

"I told you not to say anything" he interrupted Santana. "Tonight I'm going to unlock the door. When I do, you wait five minutes and leave." He informed the paper, and laid it on the floor for the girls to see. The paper had two large rectangles that were divided into smaller, labeled squares. "When you leave, stay away from these rooms." He draws a red X on the squares labeled 'Jason' and 'Dustin'. He drew a blue trail to another door. "The stairs are behind this door. The 1st floor has a lot of turns but if you follow the map you'll get though."

"What if we..." Mercedes spoke out.

"You'll go through the back door." Connor continues. "When you're out the house, you run for the woods. Don't stop. If Dustin or Jason see you," he looks at Mercedes to show he's about to answer her unfinished question "you keep running. Through the woods there's a field. When you get there you get low, and keep going. Eventually you'll get into town." He finished his presentation and pushed the sheet forward. "You didn't get that from me." He moved the chair, and locked the door after he walked out.

* * *

Connor unlocked the door late that night. Santana and Mercedes waited five minutes like they were told. Using the map they creeped to the door hiding the stairs. Stepping into the stairs, Mercedes closed the door as slow as possible. Wondering though the first floor they hear footsteps coming down the stairs they recently used.

"What are you doing" they hear a voice behind them ask.

Recognizing Dustin's voice, the girls started to run. They ran through the forest with Dustin and Jason closely behind them. When they reached the field the got down to crawl through the 4 foot tall wheat plants.

Santana crawled quickly. She peeked over her shoulder and didn't see Mercedes behind her. She slowed but didn't stop. She hears a scream causing her to peek up. She saw Mercedes wrestling to escape Dustin's hold. Santana wanted to stand and help Mercedes, but she remembered the promise she and Mercedes made earlier.

X

_"If I get caught, don't try to help me" Mercedes stated, looking at the moon from the small window. "I got you into this, and you shouldn't suffer anymore then you already have."_

_She shook her head. "No. I…"_

_"You have to run." Mercedes interrupted. "I'm slower than you. Don't even think of turn back. I don't know what will happen if I get caught but I'd be happier know you're not going through the same thing."_

_The conversation ends when they hear the door being unlocked._

X

Santana was paralyzed as she watched Mercedes stop struggling and being dragged back to the house. She fought the urge to chase them, and began crawling again.

* * *

Mercedes woke to discover her hands were tied behind her back. She looked to study her surroundings. Fear stricken as she realised she was in Jason's room. The thoughts running through her mind sent chills down her spine. Her eyes widen as the door creaked open and the shining end of a knife peeked in.

Mercedes held her breath. She knew she was going to be killed. She pictured herself laying dead in a field. She remembered all the people who she will be leaving behind.

"Don't move." Connor's voice brings her back into reality. He sawed at the rope with the knife.

After freeing her he pulled her into a different room. He sat Mercedes on the bed then pulled a chair in front of the door.

"This is as safe as you can get for now." He sits in the chair blocking the door. The room was silent except for the rapid tapping of Connors heel. "I told you to run and never stop."

"I didn't stop." The room became quiet again before Mercedes spoke. "Why are you helping me," Mercedes questioned. She didn't understand how he could help someone kidnap her, and suddenly he's helping her escape.

"Wren's dead." His words held more anger than grief. They killed Wren because he was 'TOO WEAK'. Connor was beyond piss when he found out.

Mercedes sat quietly, shocked. She was sad, but she had another question she had to ask. "Why am I here?"

Before he could answer they hear a knock on the door.

"Hide," Connor mouthed to Mercedes.

Mercedes obeyed and hid inside the closet.

Connor quietly closed the closet door behind her. He removes and tosses his shirt to the floor, revealing his light tan body. He opens the door to see Dustin waiting.

"What?" He rubbed his eyes as if he just woke.

"She's gone," Dustin informed. "We have to find her, so come on."

Connor turns to pick up his shirt. "She couldn't have gotten far," he acknowledged, pulling his shirt over his head. "Let's go." He pulled the door closed as he rushed pass Dustin.

Mercedes sat on the floor of the closet for what seemed like hours. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

* * *

**Thx for reading.**

**My cowriter and I were asked for face clamors for the kidnappers, so we thought really hard... We couldn't come up with anyone. If you have any ideas for clamors please tell us.**

**I understand this isn't the best story online, but there's no need for rude comments, so please don't post them.**


	6. Chapter 6

Mercedes opened her eyes to darkness. She wanted to rub the temple of her aching head, but her hands were retired behind her back. A light flicked on, and Mercedes took in the sight of the unfinished basement.

"Trying to runaway must have taken a lot of energy, huh?" Dustin stood over Mercedes, who just woken from her day long drug induced sleep.

Jason entered the room, pushing Connor in front of him. Connor had his arms tied behind his back like Mercedes.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Connor stated before being pushed to the ground.

"We got your little friend." Jason looked at Mercedes. "You actually thought you could get away, then you trusted him to hide you. You are SO much dumber than I thought you were." He turned to the boy sitting beside her. "I knew 'College Dropout' wasn't smart."

"At least I got into a college," Connor argued. He was accepted into NYU with a full scholarship, but lost it his Junior year when he got caught up with Dustin and Jason. "I have no fucking idea why I let you dumbasses drag me into this."

"The money," Dustin answered, knowing exactly why Connor decided to help. "I should have known you were gonna cave, and help her."

Jason was leaning close to Mercedes. She could feel his strong breathes on her face. She flinched as he lifted his hand.

"DONT!" Connor yelled. "Don't don't don't hurt her," he stuttered, remembering how defenseless he was.

Jason slowly lowered his hand. "You actually think I would listen to you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the sheet of paper Mercedes had from Connor. "A map?" He ripped it and tossed the shreds into Connor's face. "You should have known we'd find out that you were helping the bitch."

"I get it. I didn't think," Connor stated trying to protect himself. They could kill him, and not think twice about it. They did it to Wren, and Conner knew he wasn't any different.

"Loyalty doesn't need to think," Dustin stated before exiting the room.

"You know damn well we can't let people think we're weak," Jason admitted.

"Do you know who obsesses about weakness?" Connor looked Jason up and down. "Weak people."

Jason laughed and playfully slapped Connor's cheek. He walked out.

* * *

Mercedes and Connor sat in the dark. The basement was silent except for the sound of them breathing.

Connor exhaled heavy. "Fuck it," he mumbled, giving up on untying the rope after 2 hours. He knew he would need help. "I have a knife in my pocket," he admitted, repositioning himself so he was on his knees. "Mercedes, you're gonna reach in, get it, and cut the rope. We're getting the hell out of here."

Mercedes hesitated, but slowly positioned herself with her back to Connor. She began to his back pockets.

"Hey," Connor yelled, feeling Mercedes squeeze his thigh. "Too low."

"Sorry," she apologized and continued searching for his pocket. "I got it." She pulled the pocket knife out and began to cut the rope.

When they both we're free they were surprised to learn the door was unlocked. Connor peeked through the door and signaled for Mercedes to follow him. They stepped out of the basement into the open room.

Connor looked to a wall clock for the time. He knew Dustin and Jason usually left the house at that time. "I'm gonna check though the house. Stay here," Connor ordered.

Mercedes nodded, and Connor turn the corner. Mercedes peeked to watch Connor pass through the room into another. She backed away from the wall, but froze feeling someone grab her hand. She was about to scream for Connor, but her mouth was covered by a large hand.

"I should slice your ass open," Jason growled. "Move," he ordered, pushing Mercedes upstairs.

Connor returned to the employ room. Figuring the large chance that Mercedes was caught, he rushed out the house.

* * *

Jason released Mercedes with a shove as they entered a room.

"Stay away from me." Mercedes began to back away from the kidnapper blocking the door, remembering how he treats her when they're in the same room.

Jason took a step forward causing Mercedes to move backwards. She stopped when her back hit the wall causing a photo to fall off. Mercedes picks up the photo and her heartbeat skips as she studies it.

It was a photo of her and Sam. They were smiling brightly at each other. It was taken a few days before Sam moved.

Mercedes returned to reality wondering where the picture came from. She tuned and her eyes widen at the photos. "Oh my God" was the only words that could escape her lips.

"I know everything about you," Jason advanced, leaning against the door. "From your favorite pair of shoes to the way you like to wear your hair. You like to sing Soul, but you'll sing a little RnB here and there." He tucked his hands into his pockets as he ambled towards Mercedes.

"Stay the hell away from me." Mercedes looked at him with discuss. "You're sick."

Ignoring Mercedes's demand, he trapped her face between his hands. "I could show you how sick I can be," he said with a smirk. He kissed the faded handmark on her cheek then walked to admire the pictures. "I could take out your homo friend." He points to a picture of her with Kurt and Rachel "Or, the Streisand wannabe. Skinny Garanimal-Wearing-Ass-Kisser," Jason laughed, remembering Mercedes's words before she quit the New Directions. "How about your big lipped, stripper ex, AND the bulldozer rebound."

"Shut up!" Mercedes yelled from the center of the room. She refused to let anyone hurt anymore of her friends. She felt bad that Brittany and Santana were hurt because of her. She didn't want to risk anymore if her friends. "Don't go anywhere near my friends. If you hurt ANY of them I will..."

"You're not scaring me, sweet cheeks."

Mercedes jump at Jason, but was quickly pulled back by Dustin, who silently entered the room. She squirmed to break out of Dustin's arms In a swift move, Dustin had her arms behind her back.

He bound her wrists together with a length of rope. "It's time," he stated and lead her out of the room.

* * *

Connor finally reached the town. He slid his change into the payphone and dialed the number quickly.

"Lima Police Department," a voice answered.

"I have information on Mercedes Jones," Connor explained. "She's in Pennsylvania," he stated, not knowing where exactly were they he was. "I don't know how much longer she'll be there, so hurry." He hung up the phone before the person on the other side of the conversation could ask any questions.

* * *

Mercedes's hands were tied tightly behind her back, as she seat alone in the backseat. She would find the open road peaceful, if she wasn't intensely watching the clock on the radio. They've been traveling for 3 hours.

Dustin pulled to a gas station to refill the gas tank. Mercedes's attention switched from the moon above her to the small store ahead. She noticed a sign that read "PUBLIC RESTROOM." She knew that could be the opportunity to get help.

"I have to use the restroom," Mercedes blurted out.

"Hell no," Jason loudly responded to the look Dustin sent him.

Dustin rolled his eyes as he got out the car. He mumbled rapidly as he opened the backdoor and began to untie Mercedes. "At least pump the damn gas," he ordered Jason, pulling Mercedes out of the backseat. He lead her inside the store with a strong grip on her hand. "Hurry up," he whispered to Mercedes before she stepped into the restroom.

Mercedes locked the door and stepped to the mirror. She studied her tired looking face. Her brown eyes began to fill with tears. She reached for the toilet paper but, a small gold tube laying under the sink caught her attention. She picks it up to discover it was a tube of lipstick. She leaned over the sink, and began to use the lipstick to write a message on the mirror.

"Come on." Dustin knocked on the locked door.

Mercedes quickly finished writing her message. She flushed the toilet, hoping Dustin wouldn't notice what she was trying to do. She washed her hands of any dirty objects she could have touched. She finally opened the door to see Dustin waiting with his arms crossed.

"About time," Dustin mumbled.

Mercedes quickly closed the door, not wanting him to see the mirror.

Dustin grabbed Mercedes hand, and began for the cash register.

The cashier turned his attention from the TV in front of him to the to the customers coming towards him. "Hello," he greeted with a smile.

"How much on pump 2?" He point outside with his free hand.

"$65," the grey haired casher answered causing Dustin released Mercedes hand to fish the money out of his pocket. His blue eyes connected with Mercedes's before she looked to the floor. "You two make a cute couple," The man smirked.

"Thanks," Dustin said as he threw the money on the counter and began to pull Mercedes out of the store.

The cashier watched the couple drive off on the road. As he turned to study his small store, he noticed a woman rushing up the aisle to him.

"Sur, there's something wrong," she yelled standing in front of the counter. "You have to see this."

He steps from behind the counter and followed the woman to the restroom. He stepped in and was amazed by the writing on the Mirror. "HELP ME. CALL 911. -MERCEDES JONES" was written in red. He rushed to the phone, but was distracted by the TV.

"The search for the missing Ohio girl, Mercedes Jones, continues," The reporter stated. A picture of Mercedes flashed on the screen. "Almost two weeks ago Mercedes Jones and 2 of her friends were taken outside of a Lima, Ohio restaurant. One friend returned home four days after being taken, and refused to talk to the Lima police. three days ago, the other friend returned and is has talked with Lima police," the news reporter explained. "Due to an anonymous tip, the search moved into Pennsylvania. The search will continue until Mercedes Jones is found," he stated before the news switched to another story.

The cashier finally move to call the police.

* * *

Mercedes sat in the back of the car, praying someone would help her. She tugged at the rope as an attempt to loosen the knot. Before she knew it she was free. She continues to sit with her hands behind her back, waiting for the time to escape.

"Are you sure where suppose to meet him today?" Jason asked, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel.

"I know what I'm suppose to do," Dustin stated before the car grew quiet again.

Mercedes looked out the window and watched the small stores pass. There weren't many people in the cold night air. The car slowed as it approached a stop light.

Knowing that was her opportunity, Mercedes jumped out the car and ran. As she ran quickly down the unpopulated street, she looked over her shoulder. Jason was not far behind her. Mercedes turns into a dark alley.

Suddenly she was pushed to the ground. As she turned onto her back, Jason climbed over her. Jason forcefully covered her neck with his hands, and squeezed. Mercedes pushed and clawed at Jason's hands as she fought for air. Jason showed no sign of surrender.

Mercedes reached into Jason's pocket and remover a knife. Without hesitation she forced the blade into his leg. He rolled over in pain. Free, Mercedes began to run again.

As she ran out of the alley, she was grabbed by her arm. She was trapped against the wall with Dustin strongly holding her arm behind her back. Struggling, Mercedes felt a pinch on her hip.

Dustin removed the needle as Mercedes began to weaken. They had somewhere to be, and they couldn't show up without her.

* * *

Mercedes woke in a large bed. She sat up to notice she was in a room fit for a young girl. The walls were painted a light lavender, and white furniture was arranged around the room. Mercedes crawled from under white bed covers. Her legs felt numb, but she managed to stand. She looked down and became aware of her outfit change. She was now wearing a casual, black dress that ended below her knees. She slowly walked across the white carpeted floor to a shelf hanging on the wall.

In the center of the shelf was the name "Danielle" in white wooden letters. Beside the name was a framed picture of a girl, who looked to be almost nine years old. The girl in the photo resembled Mercedes at that age.

Mercedes continued to drag around the room. She reached a round table with a photo album on top. she opened the album to see more pictures of the child. The pictures showed her growing from a newborn baby to a beautiful child. Mercedes continued turning through the pages until she reached a newspaper article.

_**New York police identified the child killed in a two-car wreck on Friday as 9-year-old Danielle Stone. Danielle was in the back seat of her father's vehicle that turned left into the path of an oncoming truck, according to police.**_

_**The father was hospitalized, but is now in a stable condition.**_

_**The pickup driver was not injured.**_

Mercedes's jaw dropped when she came across the picture of the vehicles involved in the reck. The back door of the vehicle was severely damaged.

Mercedes jumped hearing the door open behind her. She close the book and turned to see Dustin and Jason entering the room. Her sadness for the child was replaced by fear as the boys began to walk towards her.

Dustin tosses a pair of flats at Mercedes's feet. "Put them on," he ordered.

Mercedes looked between the shoes and the boys.

"Put the damn shoes on," Jason strongly ordered, irritated by Mercedes.

Mercedes obeyed. After putting on the shoes she was led out of the room. After a long walk down a hall they reach a table with food. Mercedes was forced into a chair. Mercedes eyes grew as a man entered the room and moved to the opposite side of the table.

The toffee colored man smiled as he sat across from Mercedes. He appeared to be in his mid-forties. "Hello," he greeted. He waited for her to greet him back, but she didn't part her lips. "I had a friend pick that dress out just for you. She did a great job, don't you think?"

Mercedes remained silent. She analyzed the man in front of her. From his neatly shaved head to his navy colored tie that laid between his suit jacket. She processed all his characteristics that she could see above the table.

"I get it, you don't talk to people without a name. I'm James," he introduced, continuing to smile his white smile. "I know who you are. I've been interested in you since you and your friends where here in New York." James lets out a chuckle. "Running through the streets, problem free. The next day was the computation. You weren't in front, but you were the center of my eyes."

Mercedes gathered all her strength to speak. "Why am I here?" she softly questioned.

"Eighteen years ago I lost my daughter. It was the biggest tragedy of my life," James admitted. "I would always dream about her. She would say she coming back for me, and that's she was here," he explained. "The last time I dreamed about her she said, "I'm doing it. I'm going to try to live this time. Let's see if I can." The next day I saw you." He smiled, looking at Mercedes with dreaming eyes.

Mercedes began to feel pity for the man. "I'm sorry, but I'm not..."

"I heard you put up a pretty good fight," James interrupted. "I hope they didn't scare too much. I needed someone who I knew could get everything done, so I payed Dustin. Him and Jason only worked together, so I had to hire both. I knew I couldn't trust those two with something this important, so I hired some brains: Connor. Wren, Connor's friend, was a last minute choice." James laughed. "Now that you're here, you can have anything you want."

"I want to go home," Mercedes requested.

"You are home."

"My home is in Lima."

"This is your new home," James smiled. "You'll settle in easily."

"No!" Mercedes yelled. "Lima is my ONLY home. I miss my family. I miss my friends in glee. Hell, I even miss being bullied."

"Your friends in glee were your bullies."

"No, there not," Mercedes started, growing upset. "You don't know anything about my friends."

"True friends wouldn't walk all over you like a doormat. Use you then drop you like a bad habit when something more interesting catches their attention. You can sit there and clench your teeth and say I don't know how they are, but I do."

"You don't."

"Who should I start with?" James asked, looking Mercedes in the eyes. "I guess I'll work my way up through the years," he mumbled before taking a sip of his drink. He puts the drink down and reconnect his eyes with the girl across from him. "Your sophomore year, you and your family took in Quinn. Like sisters until your Junior year. 'Sure, your family took me in when I was pregnant, but you don't expect me to talk to you in public.' You were there when she pushed her baby out, for Pete's sakes." James criticized Quinn. "Tina was your friend until she and Mike started devouring each other's faces. You helped Kurt A LOT. Because you helped him become so comfortable with his sexuality, he gets a boyfriend, and you become the third wheel. You and he had a lot of hatred towards Rachel, but suddenly they're BFFs and you're just there."

"You have it ALL wrong," Mercedes stated with clenched teeth.

"I saw you and Sam hug on stage after performing at nationals, and instantly thought you two were a cute little couple. Too bad he left you broken hearted."

"Stop right there," Mercedes ordered. She hated listening to him criticize her friends, but she wasn't going to let him drag Sam's name down. "He left for his family. His dad had the perfect opportunity to better a problem," Mercedes explained. "And, I wasn't broken hearted. I was happy he left with his family."

"But, he came back just to help the New Directions beat you." He paused, waiting for Mercedes to argue, but she remained silent. "You and Artie are such good friends, but not good enough for him to choose you for a lead," James stated with a raised eyebrow. "Then there's the ringleader: Will Schuester. He always talked about how glee club is a family, but he was the one that turned it into the Rachel Berry show with her sidekick Finn."

"You don't know any..."

"These are your words, Mercedes," James stated, before standing. He walks to the corner of the room and returns with a briefcase. he reaches inside and pulls out Mercedes's latest diary. He opens the diary and began to read from it. "I'm not a sophomore anymore. How long does this guy expect us to believe his bull. 'You all will have your moment to shine.' Mr. Schue is…"

Mercedes reached a crossed the table and snatched her diary out of James's hands "That's privet."

James shrugged his wide shoulders. "That club has become truly depressing," he stated, reaching back into his briefcase. He slides a tablet to Mercedes. "So many slow songs."

Mercedes silently shuffled through videos of the glee club.

There wasn't much singing, except for slow song dedicated to the three girls. Often she would run across a video of her glee clubbers singing a song formerly performanced by the girls. The group told a lot of stories, and openly reminded about their missing friends.

Mercedes felt a tear run down her cheek and quickly wiped it.

"You can keep it," James offered, causing Mercedes to look up. "It has live stream. You can watch..."

"I want to go home, please," Mercedes pleaded with tears running down her face. "I will give you money, or something. I just want to go home." She lock eyes with James. "Please."

"Eat your dinner, and we'll talk about this later," James calmly ordered.

Mercedes took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions. After a few deep breaths Mercedes realize she only had one emotion left. Enraged, Mercedes threw the plate in front of her at the wall.

Dustin and Jason rushed into the room I time to see Mercedes slap James from across the table. They hurried to hold her back.

"Take her back to her room to cool down," James ordered. His voice held no sign of anger.

The boys struggled to control the yelling girl, but managed to get her to her room.

When the door close Mercedes's tantrum grew worse. She tossed the nearest objects about the room. She yelled and screamed at the walls as if they could hear her.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Reviews are welcomed. I didn't reread this chapter so please excuse my errors. **

**I tried to make the chapters longer by combining two chapters into one. I wanted my reason for Mercedes being taken to be different then then usual ransoms or "You have something that belongs to me." The news paper article was originally for a child that passed in my state. I'm not sure how things are in Pennsylvania or New York, so please forgive me for any wrong facts. I'm sure there's barely any payphones in the US but it was needed for the story. James rant about her friends was gathered from a lot of other stories I've read.**

**Again thx for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

Santana walked the halls of McKinley with her head held high, 'WMHS' across her chest, and her ponytail swinging behind her. She reached her locker to find the New Directions surrounding it. Ignoring the group, she opens her locker.

"Hello Santana," Rachel softly greeted.

Santana looked away from her locker to look Rachel up and down, and returned to tossing books into her locked.

"We just wanted to welcome you back," Tina smiled.

Sam took a deep breath before speaking. "We want to show you something we did in..."

"No," Santana interrupted. She stopped shuffling things in her locker, but didn't turn her attention away from the locker.

"We're a family, and we're trying to help..."

"You can help by leaving me alone," she shouted at Finn. Santana slammed her locker close and began to walk around the crowd, but her hand was grabbed. She looks over to see Quinn.

"Santana, just come watch. We'll understand if you don't like it."

She scanned the faces of her ex group members. She finally nods, and allows the group to lead her to the chorus room.

When they reached the chorus room they were met by a black figure with its back towards them.

"Mercedes," Santana called.

The figure turned and removed its hood to prove her right.

Santana rushed and pulled Mercedes into a hug. She slowly stepped back after noticing Mercedes didn't return the hug.

"Where's Brittany?" Mercedes asked.

"She didn't come to school," Santana answered. "Lord Tubbington told her it..."

"It's not safe," Mercedes interrupted.

"Ya," Santana nodded her head at Mercedes's guess.

"It's not safe here," Mercedes lowly repeated, looking at the floor.

"What?"

Mercedes looked Santana in the eyes, and said, "it's not safe here. You have to leave."

A loud gunshot woke Santana. She lied silently in her bed, thinking about her nightmare.

She had been having nightmares since she's talked to the police. Nightmares about the kidnappers or Mercedes. She usually woke in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.

Santana jumped, hearing her phone ring. She slowly reached to answer it.

"Santana," Brittany's soft voice called. "I had a bad dream." Like Santana, Brittany had nightmares too. Brittany's dreams grew worse after Santana talked with the police. "The bad guys came back for us," Brittany explained. "They made us watch them kill Mercedes."

Santana exhaled loudly. She wishes she could help Brittany, but she didn't know how. She was scared too. Santana couldn't imagine what Mercedes was going through, while she's safe at home with her family. "Britt, the bad guys will not come back," Santana unknowingly insured. "Mercedes is alive, and the cops will find her. We'll talk about this tomorrow. Just go back to sleep."

"But, what if I have another dream?"

"Lord Tubbington will protect you."

"Okay," Brittany mumbled. She didn't want to go back to sleep. She knew Lord Tubbington couldn't protect her from _those_ types of dreams. "Goodnight San."

"Night Britt." Santana hung up the phone and laid back in her bed.

Dark thoughts quickly flooded her mind until they released themselves as tears running down the latina's face.

* * *

"Where are you boys going?" James asked the two boys walking towards the exit of his home.

"Leaving," Jason answered.

"Why would you leave?"

"You have the girl. We have our money," Dustin explained. "We're leaving." He and Jason turn and continue their walk.

"Police have sketches," James stated causing the boys to stop. "Sketches of you two, Wren, and Connor. Wren's dead. Connor is probably in Canada with his savings in a bag," James assumed, believing Connor would make a smart move. "You two would be safer here." He watches as the boys look to each other. "But, everyone has a choice. You boys might survive on the street without getting caught by the law." James turns to walk away. "If you choose to stay, make yourselves comfortable in a room," he explained with his backs to the boys. He walked away with a smile, knowing which decision the boys would make. He had the right power to protect them. They would be idiots if they walked out that door.

* * *

"Good morning," James smiled entering the room to find Mercedes looking out the window. He places his hands on her shoulders and turn her from the rising sun. "I have a case to work on. While I'm out Dustin and Jason are going to have you do something very important," he explained.

"I..."

"You'll do everything they tell you to," James interrupted. He kissed Mercedes on the forehead, but she quickly pulled away. "There's more outfits in your closet, and one of the boys will show you to the shower." He begins to walk out the room, but returned. "You left these at the table," he stated, placing the tablet and diary on the bed. "Like I said, there's live stream." He smiled at Mercedes, who watched him with hatred. "Goodbye," he said, closing the door to the room.

* * *

Mercedes silently followed the boys into a large office. She was sat behind a desk and given a cell phone.

"Call your parents," Dustin ordered. "You're going to tell them that you're not coming back home, and they should stop the search," Dustin repeated what James told him.

"No," Mercedes stated, pushing the phone across the desk to the boys on the opposite side. "I'm not doing it. They are going to find me, and I'll be going home."

"You are going to do it. You're going to repeat what Dustin just said. If you say anything else, I blow your brain across the wall," Jason stated, laying a gun on the desk. He slid the phone back to Mercedes. "The number is blocked and can't be traced. Call now."

Mercedes silently eyed the gun before reaching for the phone. She dialed her home number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello," a soft voice answer.

"Mama," Mercedes called.

Mercedes's mother gasped at the sound at her daughter's voice. "Mercedes, baby, where are you?"

Mercedes looked at the two boys standing in front of her then to the gun. "I cant tell you that," she answered. "I'm not coming home. You have to stop searching for me."

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Jones asked, shocked by Mercedes's words.

"I'm not coming home."

"Mercedes, you have to come home," the mother said weakly. "I need you here. I can't sleep knowing you're not safe in your room. I can't eat without you across the table talking about your day. I can't do anything. I just can't," she explained, beginning to cry. "You have to come home."

"I'm not a child," Mercedes stated, fighting her own emotions. "I'm not coming back. Stop looking for me," she ordered, and hung up. She slapped the phone into the desk, and buried her face into her hands to hide her tears.

* * *

The kids of the New Direction gloomed thought their day. They drifted class to class as all dragged themselves into the chorus room for glee.

"I understand you're still worried about Mercedes, but we have to begin planning for Regionals," Mr. Schue stated. He hated trying to divert the kids attention, but it had to be done. He wanted Mercedes found just as much as the kids did.

"We can't, Mr. Schue," Artie stated. "We're too..." he shrugged his shoulders, unable to find a word to describe how sad and low they felt.

"Tina can't stop crying, Sam doesn't want to come to glee, and I've been in Ms. Pillsbury's office three times TODAY," Kurt explained.

"Brittany won't come out of her room," Rory updated.

"I've watched Dream Girls at least a dozen times with Rachel and Kurt," Finn admitted to watching Mercedes's favorite movie. "Sugar hasn't said one word since she joined the New Directions."

After the kidnapping Sugar began to spend time with the New Directions. It was rough for her to believe she was the last person to see the girls before they were kidnapped.

"And, no one has seen Quinn since regionals," Rachel announced. Everyone just hoped Quinn did not relapse, and return to the person she was at the beginning of the year.

Mr. Schue leaned against the piano, studying his students. "Guys..." He stopped talking as Quinn rushed into the room.

Quinn stopped in the center of the room. "I have great news," she smiled.

"Where have you been?"

"I was with Mrs. Jones," Quinn answered. She would blow school off to spend time with the woman that became a second mother to her. Mrs. Jones didn't approve of the idea at first, but she realized she didn't want to be alone when her husband had to return to work. "Mercedes called home."

Puck sat straight in his seat. "Really?"

Quinn nodded her head. "She called her mom this morning before I got there. Ms. Jones didn't tell me what she said, but she's alive," She stated, laying to rest everyone's' worst fears.

The group began to celebrate the news, not knowing they were being watched.

* * *

James continued to watch the celebrating teens through the laptop when his phone rung. He answered blinded. "Judge Stone,"

"You need to get here, NOW," Dustin ordered. "She won't stop crying and she's throwing up every damn where. I didn't sign up for this shit," he mumbled.

"I have things to do." James sat back in his chair, thinking of what he could do. "I'll send someone to check on her. Just let her in."

* * *

After finishing all his work, James returned home. He quietly peeked into the purple and white bedroom to find Mercedes asleep.

"She needs to sleep."

James turn and smiles at the woman standing beside him. He closed the door and stepped back. "Sorry doctor."

"You never fail to surprise me," the woman stated.

"I'm glad I still can after being divorced for seventeen years ." He stepped closer to his ex wife and rested his hand on her cheek. "How's everything at the hospital?"

"Pretty good. Sometimes I lie on a gurney, so I could have a moment alone," she joked. Working at the hospital was busy, but worth it.

"What do you think of Mercedes?" he asked tilting his head to the closed door with Mercedes behind it. "Just like Danielle."

"She's beautiful, but." She stopped. "Just because she looks like Danielle, doesn't make her Danielle."

"Diane," he called to his ex wife. "I..."

"James," Diane interrupted. "She's Mercedes; not Daniele. Where did she come from?"

"Ohio," James answered. "She's..."

"Ohio," she loudly repeated. "How long has she been here?"

"Two days," he answered.

"James, this is serious. Are you lying? You better not be lying to me." She knew he would lie to make the situation seem smaller. She thought back to the fearful look the girl had. She constantly tried to talk with Mercedes, but never received a response.

"I'm not lying. Two days." He wasn't lying; he was just holding back details. Mercedes had been in his home for two days, but has been missing for eleven.

"Her family must be worried sick."

"No," James lied. "She has no family. With the kindness in my heart, I offered her and her friends the opportunity to stay here." James smiled, catching his ex wife nod. He knew she didn't watch the news. She always found it depressing.

After a long silence, Diane said," I should go. I'm really tired." She began for the door with James following behind her. "Make sure Mercedes sleeps," she ordered, allowing James to help her with her jacket. With her jacket on she turns to James. "You, stay out of trouble."

"Of course." James leaned forward to his ex-wife.

Diane laughed. "I'm not kissing you."

"It was worth a try," he smiled, straightening back up. "Can I at least have a hug?"

Diane agreed and was pulled into a hug. She slowly pulled out of the hug.

James opens the door and watch the woman walk to her car.

* * *

Mercedes stood in a ring of her former glee clubbers, accepting hug after hug.

"Lord Tubbington said you were coming back," Brittany started, moving so another glee clubber could hug Mercedes.

"What's going on?" a soft squeaky voice Mercedes knew was Sugar's asked from the doorway of the chorus room.

The group of thankful teens parted.

Sugar joyfully squealed as she caught sight of Mercedes. She rushed to her and squeezed her tightly around her neck. "Where did you go?" She asked, not wanting Mercedes to ever leave again.

"Why would someone take you?" Sam asked.

"How did you get away?"

Mercedes turns to Sam and Puck. "I..."

The doors of the chorus room slammed with a bang. All the kids turned.

"What the hell?" Santana yelled, looking between the three guys and Mercedes. She didn't know the older man, but she knew Jason and Dustin. "Mercedes, you brought them here. What the hell were you thinking?" Santana raised her hand, stopping Mercedes from talking. "You were probably with them from the get-go."

Mercedes rapidly shook her head. "Santana, I'm..."

"Mercedes, You are so hard headed," James stated, placing his hand near his hip.

Mercedes felt chills throughout her whole body. She didn't know what would happen, but she was sure it wasn't going to be pretty. Mercedes stepped up to James. "Lets go," Mercedes ordered. "I'll go back with you. Just leave my friends alone."

Before James could respond the doorknob into the room began to juggle. He looks to see the curly haired teacher trying to open the locked door. James signaled for Jason to let the teacher inside the room.

Jason quickly opened the door, dragged Mr. Schue in by his vest. Jason closed the door quickly.

"What is..."

"Shut up," Jason interrupted the teacher, pushing him towards the group of kids.

"Everyone sit down," James ordered. He glared as his hostages continued to stand. "You would never want me to repeat myself," he stated in a threatening voice.

The students and teacher sat, leaving Mercedes standing. James turned to Dustin and Jason to have a conversation.

"Are you happy now?" Santana asked the girl standing in the center of the room. The latina move to stand in front of her subject. "We all know who you really are. You don't have to front any more."

"Mercedes wouldn't do this," Blaine stated.

"You have them fooled," Santana stated, not taking her eyes off of Mercedes. "Hell, you had me fooled." She laughed at her stupidity. "I actually thought we were friends.

Mercedes reached for Santana's hand, but Santana yanked away. "I'm not with them. Why on this earth would I help them?"

"I knew you hated me and Britt sophomore year, but I thought we were past that. Now I see you're only friends with them." She points to the group of talking men. Seeing Mercedes part her lips to talk, Santana raised her hand to Mercedes's face. "I dont want to hear a damn thing you have to say."

Mercedes watched Santana turn and return to her seat next to a red faced Brittany. "Brittany, I'm not helping them," She stated, moving closer to the blonde.

Brittany shrugged her shoulders and lowered her head.

Mercedes slowly stepped back, and begin to study the sad and disappointed faces of the club. "You have to believe me. I..." Mercedes froze hearing a gunshot. From the corner of her eye she saw a body fall out of a chair. She turned, expecting to see the shooter,but found herself standing in the aisle of a empty auditorium.

The auditorium was smaller than Mckinley's. The aisle, dividing the audience in half, lead to a wooden stage.

Mercedes continue to study the theater until a single light switched on. In the light stood a young girl dressed in a light blue dress. Mercedes tilted her head, realizing the child was Danielle.

Danielle looked up from the stage floor and began to sing.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Mercedes stood frozen listening to the beautiful sound escaping the child. Danielle's voice seemed strong and steady for a child.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

As Danielle continued to hold the ending note, Mercedes felt a pair of hands wrap around her neck. She began to claw at the unknown figures. Her eyes widen with fear. Small, ragged gasps escaped her throat as the hands squeezed tighter.

Mercedes quickly sat up, breathing heavy. Noticing the purple decorations around the room, she realized the events that just happened were in her head. If only she knew which was the nightmare: her dream or her reality.

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**

**I hope this chapter makes since to you. I had a really hard time writing this. Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. I glad that you were pleased with the reason Mercedes was taken. I TRIED to explain what is happening with the glee club. In the next chapter I want to include a conversation between Mercedes and one or two other characters from the show. I want to know who would you like to have the conversation with Mercedes, or what would they say. **


	8. Chapter 8

"When I uncover your eyes, I want you to see the world as new," James whispered into Mercedes's ear. He slowly raised the rag tied around her face. "Deceivement is in the mind. You overcome that then you can see who you really are." He waited for his words to sink in before moving to sit in front of her.

"Uncuff me," Mercedes ordered, stretching the chains of the cuffs that bonded her to the chair she sat in.

"I'm trying to help you, but you're not helping yourself," James said as he ran his hand through her now shoulder length hair.

Mercedes snatched away from his hand. "Don't touch me," she growled. "I don't need help," she exploded. "The ones that need help..."

James raised his finger to Mercedes's lips, silencing her as a phone rung. "It's my office, so I have to answer," the judge explained before calling to Dusten, who stood outside the room. When Dustin entered the room James handed him the keys to the cuffs. "After you take her to her room, find Jason and come back. I have to have a conversation with you two." James answered his phone after getting a nod from the blonde.

Dustin quickly uncuffed Mercedes. When he reached for her arm, she started yelling. Dustin struggled to control her as she yelled at the older man standing feet away.

"You're out of control," James said, watching Dustin finally get a grip of the girl. "Go to your room," he ordered, playing off the moment.

James turned Mercedes with his hand over her mouth. He tightly held her hands behind her back to stop her from fighting.

James lifted the phone to his ear. "Sorry about that," he apologized to the person who surely heard Mercedes. "So, how may I help you?"

* * *

**I woke up this morning and learned tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I thought back to Christmases with my family, shopping with Kurt and Tina, and decorating the chorus room. I constantly looked at the live stream, wanting to see the decorations thrown around the room, but there were none. The gang was just sitting there, like I've seen them do every other day.**

**From what I see, the club is falling apart. They're constantly argue. About what? I don't truly know. It's just a lot of loud babbling. Sam doesn't come to glee.**

**I began to watch the news. I've been missing for a little less than a month. The story isn't shown often on the news, but I know everyone is still searching for me. I knew my mom wouldn't give up on me. She spoke out a lot. She still had that sad tone from the day I called her. My dad and brother spoke also.**

**I always wondered about Brit and San. How were they holding up? Where they supporting each other, like I expected? My questions were laid to rest when they returned to school. They didn't act like the girls I use to know. Instead of the feisty attitude I've slowly become immune to, Santana was mostly to herself. Brittany constantly moved in her seat next to Santana. They don't respond to most questions asked, but when they do they looked at each other before answering. It was pretty sad to see them unease, but I'm proud they're supporting each other when they knew how.**

**I hate being here now more than I did when I first got here. I feel like I'm being watched, I rarely have a moment to myself, and they constantly call me Danielle.**

**I AM MERCEDES JONES. I'm not Danielle. This room is Danielle. These dresses are Danielle. This haircut is Danielle.**

"What the hell?" Mercedes yelled after catching Jason reading her diary. She snatched the book from his hands, and held it close to her. "Get out." She slammed the book on a table beside the bed. "Leave now," she ordered, sitting in the center of the bed. She sat the tablet in her lap, taking her attention away from Jason.

James promised her that along as she was staying, her diary would not be read. Out of the nineteen days she's been in his house she's only written in it twice. She had to put her emotion somewhere, or else she was going to lose the last bit of sanity she had left.

Jason slowly walked towards the door, but stopped. "Hey," he called to Mercedes.

Mercedes looked away from the tablet to see Jason holding her journal over the flame of a lighter. Mercedes quickly climbed off the bed, watching the bottom corner of the book being burned. "No," she cried, stretching to reach for the diary that was hung over her head.

Jason smirked watching her struggle. Everytime she'd reach up, he would lift the diary higher. He dropped the book in a trashcan beside the door, and walked out.

Mercedes stood frozen, watching the flames rise above the rim of the trashcan. Her eyes began to burn like the last solid object of the life she was taken from. She was broken.

They won.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**

**I know last chapter I asked who should Mercedes have a chance to talk to, but I decided to drop that idea. It was a little more complicated then I originally thought. This was what I pulled together, so I hope you enjoy it. I'm gonna take a small break from writing my other story, "The Blackout", to focus on this fiction.**

**Lastly, I was finally able to chose face claimers. I will reveal them in the next chapter when all the guys are brought up.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm beginning the chapter by giving the face claimers. The face claimers are on a website I made. If you're interested you can find the site's address in my bio. You would have to copy the link and paste it into your address bar.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"This is ridiculous. We should not be cutting deals with this kid."

"This is my case, so that's my decision." The agent looked up from the file to the sheriff. "He has the information we need. Mercedes has been missing for a month now. All the information we've gotten before lead us to dead ends. Now, we have someone willing to tell us everything he knows, and you're against it."

"He's hiding," the sheriff argued. "I don't care how he gives the information. He could write it in a letter for all I care. He..."

"He's helpful," the agent interrupted before checking the time. "I'll handle this alone."

The agent entered an office, sat behinds the desk, and waited for the face to appear on the computer screen.

"Connor Isaac," the detective called, watching the curly haired male on the monitor. "I'm Agent Robbins with the FBI. Mr. Isaac, you've sent a written statement promising that the information you'll be giving on this case is all true."

Connor nodded his head. "I'll tell you everything, but, by law, you can't force me back into the US," Connor explained.

After leaving Pennsylvania, Connor flew out of the US to a country where the extradition law didn't apply. He didn't have to worry about being deported back to America for a trial, but he couldn't run from his guilt.

"I understand Mr. Isaac," Agent Robbins said, opening the folder on the desk. "Let's begin with the sketches Ms. Lopez provided." The agent lifted the sketch of Wren. "We were recently able to identify the suspect in this sketch...

"Wren isn't a suspect," Connor interrupted. "He was an incident person that got caught up in a situation that casted him his life." He hated hearing Wren being called a suspect.

Robbins looked down at the picture of the photo of the dead body they discovered and identified. "We found his body in Pennsylvania," he informed, deciding not to share the pictures taken of the scene. The agent looked at Connor's still face for a long moment before moving on and holding up the other sketches. "Could you identify these two?"

"Jason Mendes," Connor stated, painting at one of the drawing then to the other, "and Dustin Matheson."

The agent nodded, writing the names down on a yellow pad. "Were there any others involved?"

"We were hired by a guy," he admitted. "He said his name was Keith Foxx. African-American; bald. He had a mustache, but I don't remember the details."

"Where did you meet Mr. Foxx?"

"I first met him at a restaurant near campus, but we met almost a week later at a bar."

* * *

_"Do you really think you should have come here?" Wren asked as he followed Connor. "Meeting a guy in a dark bar doesn't sound strange to you, because it does to me._

_"I know I've told you to stop staying up to watch mob movies," Connor remembered, smirking. They entered the bar and Connor scanned his new surroundings. "There's the guy. Stay here."_

_"No," Wren argued. "I'm not letting you talk to some random guy alone. He could be an escape mental patient for all you know."_

_Connor rolled his eyes and allowed Wren to follow him to a booth on the back of the bar._

_"Nice to see you again, Connor," Keith said, standing to shake Connor's hand. "May I ask who is you friend?"_

_"I'm Wren," he introduced himself as he shook hands with Keith._

_"Do you want drinks?" Keith asked the two boy sitting across from him. "They're on me."_

_"We're not twenty-one," Wren answered, becoming even more cautious of the man infront of him. Wren was a stickler for rules. He had no plans to drink, even though he was only a year under the legal age._

_Keith smirked and nodded at the brown haired boy, then turned his attention to Connor. "Well, let's get down to business."_

* * *

"He wanted me to get some of Mercedes's records and hack things, like her Facebook," Connor explained to the FBI agent. Connor was quite famous for hacking computers and programs.

"Why did you agree to do that?"

"He was willing to pay me $7,000. That was a lot of money for something I could do easily," he answered. "Wren didn't have a job, and I had just lost mine, so we needed it. Living in New York is expensive."

"Where did you work?"

"I was a tax accountant. The company that I worked for moved to Atlanta. I didn't relocate because of med school."

"When did you hear from Mr. Foxx again?"

"I heard from him two months later in late July," Connor admitted. "He told me to meet him in a park outside the city later that night."

* * *

_Connor looked over at the clock and read 2:12. He stepped out of his room to find Wren asleep on the couch and 'The Untouchables' playing on the TV. He turned the movie off just as Al Capone lifted his bat to hit one if his men in the back I the head._

_He walked on the sidewalk until he reached the park where Keith told him to meet him. As he walked through the wooded park he couldn't shake the feeling of being followed. He turned off the path to hide. As his stalker continued to walk, Connor tackled him._

_"It's me! It's me!"_

_Connor lowered his fist. "Wren, what are you doing here?"_

_"I could ask you the same," Wren stated as Connor stood. "I told you not to get involved with this guy again."_

_"I left you at the apartment for a reason. Go back," Connor ordered, beginning to walk away._

_"If I'm leaving, you're coming with me." Wren followed behind Connor. "Connor, this isn't a good idea."_

_"Hello gentlemen." Keith smirked as he walked towards the two._

_"Goodbye," Wren said, beginning to pull Connor back._

_Connor stumbled backwards before snatching away from his friend. "Go home," he sternly ordered and turned to Keith. Connor looked over Keith's shoulder to see two other figures strolling towards them._

_"Wren," Keith called. "Why don't you stay for this?"_

* * *

"That was when he brought up his plan to kidnap Mercedes," Connor informed. "He didn't tell us why he wanted her, but he said he would give us $50,000 each. I told him I wasn't sure if I could do something like that, and he told me to think about it."

"But you still took the opportunity."

"Yeah," Connor nodded. "I really don't know why."

"Was it because of the money?" the agent asked.

"No," Connor answered. "At first, I really didn't think he had it. I had him pay me and Wren half of the money before we did anything."

"How did Wren feel about helping?"

"He never did like the plan. He tried to talk me out of it plenty of times. I didn't quit, so neither did he. If I had just stopped for a second and really thought it through, then Wren wouldn't be dead." he stated, feeling guilty. "We spent weeks getting ready for "the night"," he said making air quotes.

* * *

_"I shut the street cameras down, so don't worry about them," Connor stated, looking back at Dustin._

_"There she is," Wren announced from the driver seat, watching Mercedes wave to Santana and Brittany._

_Dustin waited until Mercedes reached her car before climbing out of the vehicle. He walked through the empty parking space to her. As Mercedes reached to open her car door he placed the chloroform covered rag over her nose._

_She screamed for help as she began to lose consciousness._

_Dustin began to drag Mercedes body to the vehicle. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath after noticing her friends rushing in their direction._

_Connor jumped out of the passenger seat as Dustin finished putting Mercedes inside. When the girls were close enough, he grabbed Santana's arm._

_"Brittany, run," Santana yelled, struggling to escape Connor's grip._

_Connor forced his free hand over Santana's mouth. He released her arm and placed his thumb over a vain on the back of her neck._

_Santana became unconscious from the lack of blood flow to her brain ._

_Connor quickly moved his thumb once she was unconscious. He looked away from the latina in his arms to see Dustin removing the rag from over Brittany's face._

* * *

"We just put them with Mercedes and drove off."

"Mr. Isaac, did you know you could have killed Ms. Lo..."

"Yes," he interrupted to answer. "I was careful not to hold the vain too long."

Robbins nodded and moved on. "Where did you go afterwards?"

"We stayed in Lima until the story broke," Connor explained. "After that, we met Jason in Pennsylvania. We kept the girls in the attic. Wren didn't let anyone go near the girls, but me and him."

"How often did you see the girls."

"I only went up to the attic to take them food, or to check on them. Wren was up there more often. I don't know what he was doing, but he went up there every few hours." Connor waited for the FBI agent to ask a question, but there wasn't any. "After three days, they decided to take Brittany back to Ohio."

* * *

_Dustin walked into the room with Brittany close behind him. "Wren, come on." He points to the boy sitting beside Connor._

_"What?" Wren asked confused._

_"We're taking this one back to Ohio," Dustin answered. "We're wasting money keeping her here."_

_Wren nodded before standing. He walked out the room, talking to Brittany._

_Brittany was listening, but not responding._

_Hours passed before Connor tried calling Wren or Dustin._

_"Wren won't answer his phone," Connor announced, ending the call to try calling again. "Did you talk to Dustin?"_

_"No," Jason lied._

_"Well I'm gonna keep trying to call. Just wondering where they are."_

_"Why are you always on his ass? I'm sure the boy can handle himself, so you don't have to call him every damn minute."_

_"I do because I don't trust Dustin, and I sure as hell don't trust you," Connor admitted, growing defensive. "It's my problem if I call Wren to see where he is."_

_Jason silently nodded his head and stood from the chair he sat in. "He's somewhere with a bullet in his skull," he mumbled into his beer bottle as he walked past Connor._

_"What?" Connor asked, convinced Jason just said something snarky and sarcastic._

_"I'm going to sleep." Jason left an angry Connor in the room._

* * *

"Dustin came back the next night, and Wren wasn't with him," Connor said disappointingly. "I asked where he was, and Dustin said, "He's dead. I killed him," then he left. No shame."

Robbins sat silently, giving Conner time to gather himself. "Do you believe you can continue?"

Connor sat silently before nodding.

"Why was Brittany chosen as the one to take back to Lima?"

Connor continued to sit in silence. "We needed Mercedes, so we couldn't send her back. Brittany was the easiest to manipulate. "Stay quiet, or else." She didn't tell anyone what happened because she was scared."

The agent finished writing, and asked, "did anything happen while Mr. Matheson was out?"

"The morning before Dustin came back, I went up in the attic. Mercedes was complaining about her arm, so I tried to help her. I left the attic and tried to find Jason."

"Why?"

"I knew Jason had something to do with it," Connor admitted, still unacknowledged of Mercedes's act. "Jason has a bad temper. If one of the girls were hurt, surely he was behind it," he explained before returning to his story.

"I searched for him on the first floor, then I went upstairs. I saw the attic door was open, but before I could got up there, I heard a lot of noise from a room."

* * *

_Connor pushed open the door to find Jason standing over Mercedes. "What are you doing?" he asked storming into the room._

_Jason's snide response caused the two to feud._

_"Don't ever come near her again," Connor yelled at Jason, ending the fight. Connor helped Mercedes stand. He wrapped his arm around her midsection to help her walk up the stairs to the attic. "It's going to be okay," he said as sat her in a chair and studied her face. "I'll go get you some ice." Connor rushed out, and returned moments later with a rag holding ice cubes._

* * *

"I really didn't think about Santana. I was so focused on Mercedes that I didn't notice that she wasn't in the attic," Connor excused. "I found her passed out in the room where Jason kept picture of Mercedes."

"Where did he get the pictures?" Robbins inquired.

"Same were taken by Keith, but most were from Jason," he informed. "That was the moment I decided I was done. As soon as Wren came back, I was going to help the girls get out then me and Wren were going to leave. He didn't come back, but I stayed. I couldn't leave those girls there, defenseless against Jason and Dustin."

"So did you do anything?"

"I tried to help. I drew them a layout of the house, and gave it to them. I told them I would unlock the attic door when I knew Jason and Dustin were sleeping, and that they should wait five minutes before going for the back door."

"Why five minutes?"

"Enough time to get back to my room and pretend I've been in there all along," he explained. "I was going to leave that morning, when I knew they had got away, but Mercedes was caught. I waited until 3 o'clock to help her."

"Why 3 o'clock?"

"Dustin and Jason left every day at three and came back around 4:30. When they left I went into Jason's room and untied Mercedes and took her to the room I was in."

"Why did you feel your room was a safe place to keep her?"

"Dustin and Jason never went into that room," he replied. He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing why. "They just hadn't before."

"Well, continue," Robbins ordered.

"They turned around and came back to the house, and saw Mercedes wasn't in Jason's room. They knocked on my door and she hid in the closet. I helped them look for her. When I came back to check on her, she wasn't in the closet. I thought she had used the layout I gave her to get away, but something told me to stay," he admitted. "I didn't know where she was until the next day."

* * *

_Connor was blindsided as he was forced against the wall. "What..."_

_"Shut up," Jason ordered, forcefully tying Connor's hands. When the knot was tied he began to push the curly haired boy though the house._

_"What's going on?" Connor asked, trying to break free of Jason's force._

_"You're going to join Wren," Jason stated opening a door, "but first, you get to see your other friend."_

_"This is fucking ridiculous," Connor stated before being pushed to the ground. He wasted no time trying to sit up. When he was upright he noticed Mercedes._

_"We got your little friend." Jason looked at Mercedes. "You actually thought you could get away, then you trusted him to hide you. You are SO much dumber than I thought you were." He turned to the boy sitting beside her. "I knew 'College Dropout' wasn't smart."_

* * *

"We were in the basement for hours before we got loose," he stated to the agent.

"Why didn't you check the basement after you noticed she wasn't in the closet?"

"I already said that I thought she was gone," he reminded. "And I didn't know there was a basement."

"But you drew a layout of the house."

"All I knew was that door wasn't an exit," Connor admitted. "We got out the basement at 3:54. I told her to wait while I check that they weren't there. When I came back for her she was gone. I ran from the house to…"

"Why did you leave her behind?" Robbins asked.

"I couldn't risk it. They were about to kill me. They wouldn't kill Mercedes because Keith payed a lot for them to bring her to him. The best I could do was get help," he explained. "I got into town and called the police."

"You were the anonymous person that said Mercedes was in Pennsylvania?"

"Yes, I was," Connor nodded. "I couldn't give them an address because I didn't know where we were. I just told them to hurry because I didn't know what Dustin or Jason were going to do. I thought the police would be able to find her before they got away. Afterwards, I caught a plane out of America," Connor admitted, ending his story.

"Where do you believe she is now?"

"It's the day after Christmas, so I think she would be with Keith by now. I don't know if they would be in New York."

"Why not?" Robbins asked, writing on the pad.

"He talked about a lot of places, so I can only assume he took her to one of them," Connor confessed. He sat back as he tried to think of some cities Keith named. "He's from Texas, but likes the rush of New York. He visits Boston, and DC almost twice a year. He said Maine was beautiful, but Florida and Georgia has better weather." Connor sits in a moment of silence as he continued to think. "I can't thank of anything else to add."

Robbins finished writing on the pad before saying, "Well, thank you, Mr. Isaac. If we come across anymore questions, we'll contact you."

Connor nodded and closed the window.

* * *

The sheriff entered the office and sat across the desk from the FBI agent. "What did you find while doing the background searches?"

Hours had passed since the conversation with Connor. After the discussion, Robbins began to run background searches on the names Connor gave.

The agent exhaled a long breath before looking away from the computer. "Where do you want me to start?"

The sheriff shrugged. "Dustin Matheson," the sheriff threw out.

"Dustin is a twenty-three year old from Long Beach, New York. He was raised by a single mother that passed when he was twelve, putting him and his older brother in foster care. He has two DUIs. One where he was underage," the agent read. "Two years ago he checked into a rehab to receive help with an alcohol addiction. He has a three years old that now lives in Ohio. The child's mother, Amy Martin, tweeted a picture of her son and Dustin the same day Brittany was brought back to Ohio." Robbins turned the monitor to the sheriff to show the picture of Dustin holding a small blonde child, oblivious to the girl taking the picture with her phone.

"He returned Brittany, visited his kid, and came back to where was Mercedes was," the sheriff explained his conclusion, earning a nod from the agent. "What did you gather on Jason?"

"Jason is from Seaside Heights, New Jersey. His father was an officer, but was caught up in a scandal for throwing out records. A thirteen year old Jason was constantly thrown into the trial as one of people whose records went "missing". His father died of a brain aneurysm before the trial reached an end. A year after Jason and his family moved to Long Beach, there was a home invasion. Jason's mother and two of his three sisters were murdered. Jason fought the invader and killed him.

"Who was the invader. "

"Wyatt Matheson, Dustin's older brother," Robbins answered. "Jason's serving sister was old enough to take care of him, but she committed suicide three months later. She left a note to Jason," the agent stated, pulling a copy of the suicide note from the folder and handing it to the sheriff.

**Dear Jason,**  
**I sorry that I'm leaving you after everything our family has been through. I just can't take it anymore. I was the reason for the attack. I was kidding and I guess Wyatt took it seriously. I'm so sorry, little bro. I'm sorry for putting you through this, but I'm losing it. Don't forget me or our family. I love you, and mom and dad love you, and Hannah and Olivia love you. Don't forget that. I want you to live your life, forgive others and especially yourself.**

**Love,**

**Julie**

"Jason was put in foster care at the age of fifteen. Eventually he landed in the same foster home as Dustin. That's when Jason's criminal activities shot with multiple theft and assault charges. All were dropped." Agent Robbins sat, rereading the files. "The biggest snag I'm looking at in this case is who is Keith Foxx."

"Why is it a problem?"

"The only "Keith Foxx" I found record of in New York was a six year old. He gave them a fake name," Robbins stated. "We just have to work harder to find Mercedes, because we WILL find her."

* * *

**Thank you SO much for reading this chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and the face claimers. I'm happy to read that I'm getting reviews from readers that usually don't review. I'm also exited to get positive comments from authors I like to read. I'm thankful for those who review, but also for those who just read.**

**THANK Y'ALL.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: The beginning may seem a little confusing, but it will come together as you read. Enjoy.**

* * *

She opened her eyes to the sunlit room. She sat up in the bed and noticed a small box sitting on the bedside table. She took the box and the card under it.

To my beautiful daughter, Danielle. A Christmas present that arrived a little late.

She opened the box to find a gold necklace. She crawled out of the bed and rushed to the mirror hanging on the wall. She clasped the necklace around her neck. Her fingers ran across the cursive letters spelling Danielle.

"I am Danielle Stone," she said, beginning to comb through her hair with her fingers. She stops as she watches the door open behind her. She smirked at the reflection of the blonde standing in the doorway.

"Get dressed," Dustin ordered, observing the girl still wearing the clothes she slept in. "You have to leave."

Danielle turned. "Well, good morning to you too, sunshine."

"Just get dressed," he repeated, not amused.

Danielle shrugged. "I don't know what I should wear," she admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I don know. I don't care. You have hundreds of dresses. Put one on," he impatiently barked, earning another shrug from the girl. He stormed to her closet, pulled out a dress, and threw it at her. "Put it on."

"No," she declined, making a disgusted face at the dress in her hands. She watched Dustin pick out a few more dress for her to turndown.

Irritated, Dustin began to grab random dresses and toss them onto the chair in the corner. Halfway through the closet, he felt a hand on his back.

Danielle laughed at the blonde in front of her. "I was just messing with you. Calm down." She slowly moved her hand up his back to his arm. "Loosen up," she ordered, squeezing his bicep.

"No," he rejected, turning to her. "You need to get dressed and leave."

"Not until you smile." She smiled, knowing she was wasting time. "Smile," she sung, playfully tapping the wide chin of the blue eyed male in front of her.

"Danielle."

She turned away from Dustin to James standing in the doorway. "What?" She asked with attitude.

"I'm leaving in 30 minutes," James admitted. "You are coming with me, dressed or not."

"Okay," Danielle shrugged.

"Okay," he smiles at the girl. "You can have breakfast when you're done." James allowed Dustin to exit the room in front of him before closed the door.

* * *

"Do you not trust me enough to sit in the front seat?" Danielle asked, resting her head on the side of the passenger seat's headrest.

"No, I don't." James answered, not looking away from the road he drove on.

"Then why did you even let me out of the house?"

Instead of answering, he eyed her though the mirror. "Sit back and put your seatbelt on," he ordered. He watched Danielle follow his command before concentrating back on the road.

He like how obedient she has become over the past few days. Danielle, come here; stand there; do this. She might have a attitude doing something, but she did it.

Danielle looked out the window, watching the buildings pass. "I'm sure we've passed this building twice before," she admitted, eyeing the three story brick building.

James did not respond as he continued to circle the same New York blocks. He just had to get the girl out the house long enough for Dustin and Jason to do what he had asked of them, but now he just wishes she would be quite.

Bothered by the silence that was created by James's failure to respond, she begins to study the side features of the man in the driver seat. She notices the tightness of his temple. "You're mad, aren't you?" Before James could acknowledge her, she continued by asking, "Is it about this morning? I was just kidding. I don't like Dustin." She shrugged before saying, "I don't like blondes."

"You dated Sam Evans," James reminded.

The young girl shook her head. "Mercedes dated Sam," she corrected.

The night Jason burned her diary was when Mercedes accepted the fact that she was stuck with James. She began to immerse herself into becoming what she would want Danielle to be. Mercedes was still there, but tightly wrapped into the life and personality of Danielle E. Stone.

A ringing sounded through the the vehicle.

James eyed Danielle through the mirror, warning her to be quiet then he answered his phone. "Judge Stone." He listened to the person on the other end of the phone. When the person was done talking, he exhaled and asked, "How long will this take." He stopped talking so the person could answer. He sternly nodded as if he was talking face to face with the person. "Sure, I'll be there soon. If that's all you're calling for, you can leave for the day… Yes, I'm positive. Go home. Goodbye." He hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Danielle nosly asked. "What did they want?"

"None of your concern," he stated, feeling no need to explain the conversation he just had with his receptionist. He looked into the mirror to see the disapproving look from the back seat. "I have something to handle at my office, and I have to take you with me. Youre going to go in, sit down, and not say a word. I..."

James's sentence was interrupted by sirens.

James pulled his vehicle to the side of the road as blue lights followed. "Right now, I just want you to sit back and be quiet, so I can handle this," he explained before letting his window down. "Morning, Officer Porter." He pronounced the name on the officer's tag with confidence, making it seem like he naturally knew his name.

"Morning judge," the police officer nodded. "I just wanted to warn you was speeding back there. The speed limit is 45."

"I apologize for that. I was handling a call," he admitted. "It's a busy time for me."

Porter nodded. "I understand. You're busy, but being distracted by your phone is unsafe, for you and other drivers."

"Are you going to write a ticket, or are you going to waste time," Danielle chimed in from the back seat.

"Excuse my daughter. She's having a bad morning,"James explained to the officer.

"You can go, but remember the speed limit," he said before stepping back.

"I will. Have a nice day." James rolled his window up and drove off. He looked into the mirror to see Danielle's facial expression mixed between questioning and amusement. "The world revolves around money and power. That kid was right about that," James acknowledged, remembering how Connor would constantly point it out. "I have both, so I have everything I could want. But let's take a small town dentist as an example," he said. "Of course, he might have a little money, but he will never have power. He can't control people and them do what he wants."

Danielle sat in silence before admitting, "I don't care." She turned back to look out the window.

The vehicle went dark as James pulled into a parking garage. After parking, he stepped out the SUV, and opened the child locked door beside Danielle. When she was outside of the vehicle, he pulled her close, so no passing bystanders could hear him.

"When we get to my office, you're going to sit down," he whispered. "You're not going to make eye contact with anyone. You're not going to speak unless spoken to, and when you do, you better watch yourself. Understand?" He watched the girl roll her eyes. "Danielle."

Danielle waited a moment before nodding. She kept her head down as James lead her through the building and into his office. She sat in a chair in the corner, where she couldn't be seen because of the large bookshelf beside her.

She continued to sit in the corner as time passed slowly. She pinched the end of the dress hanging over the leggings she wore. Her eyes fixed on the floor. Her mind filling with 'Danielle thoughts'. "If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?" she questioned in her mind.

"Morning Judge," a voice greeted causing Danielle to sit straight with wonder.

James looked up from his work. "Good Morning, Peter. How are you?"

"I'm good." A tall man stepped up to James's desk, allowing Danielle to only see his back. "You said you were done here after New Years. I didn't expect to see you working New Years Eve."

"They're going to milk as much as they can before I go." He took a moment to sign off a sheet in front of him then looked back at up. He glanced past Peter to Danielle. "After today, it's just me and my daughter, Danielle," he said, raising his arm to point at the girl in the corner of the office.

The man turned and smiled when he noticing her. "Well hello," He greeted. He held out his hand and began to walk towards Danielle.

"Don't talk to me," Danielle ordered, looking at the floor.

"Well." Peter stepped back and ran his hand through his salt and pepper colored hair. He turned to James, thinking of something to say. "I've met your son a couple of times, but I never knew you had a daughter."

The two men continued to communicate through small conversations for several more minutes.

"Where are you going?" James asked after Danielle stood from her chair and started to walk.

She turned to the men and closed her hands in front of her. "Father, may I go to the powder room?" she asked with sarcasm oozing from every word.

"Can it wait?" he asked. He didn't want her wandering around his place of work alone, when she could be reconsidered, or say anything to anyone. "We'll leave soon."

"No," she lied. "I'll find it myself."

"I can show her," Peter volunteered.

James took a long pause to think before approving. James always thought of Peter as a twit. If the man didn't have pictures he wouldn't remember his own kids.

Danielle followed behind the suited man as he lead her down the hall. "Thanks," she mumbled after he pointed to the bathroom door. As the door closed, she could see Peter still standing outside. She peeked out the door and said, "I'm not a child. You dont have to wait for me to come out." She shooed Peter away before stepping back in.

Minutes later, when Danielle exited the restroom, she collided with another person.

"My bad," a light skinned young man said, picking up his cellphone that landed at Danielle feet. He stood straight and froze.

"Can I have my face back, please?" Danielle sarcastically asked, irritated by the boy's stare.

"I-I'm sorry," he apologized. "You look familiar." He studied the girl's face. "There was a girl that went to my old school. You two look alike."

Danielle chuckled. "Well, she's lucky. She gets to look like me."

"Mr. Rutherford."

"Hey, Judge Stone," the young man greeted.

James approached the two. "How are you? Why are you here?"

"I came to see my mom," he admitted.

The judge nodded his head then looked at Danielle. "It's time to go," he said, earning a nod. "Goodbye, Matt."

"Bye, Judge," he returned as the father and daughter turned. "It was nice meeting you," Matt said to Danielle.

"I wish I could say the same," Danielle said over her shoulder as they began to walk away.

* * *

"What the hell?" Danielle asked, seeing that every room in the mansion was empty, except for the brown boxes that were stacked in them. She turned to her father. "What's all this?"

"We're leaving," James answered. "I got a new place for us."

"Where?" she asked unamused.

"Everything's finished," Dusten announced, joining the two.

"You can go back up those stairs, and unpack these ugly ass boxes. I'm not going any damn where," Danielle loudly declared. James stepped towards her with his hand out, and she stepped back. "Don't touch me."

Mercedes was beginning to shine through the cracks. She didn't want to leave. She was willing to be Danielle, but deep down she wanted to be found and taken back to Ohio. If they left, than she might not be ever be.

Dustin threw his arm around the girl's shoulder and began to lead her away from James. "Go get some water, and calm down," he softly ordered. "Glasses are on the counter." He released the girl to go to the kitchen. When she was out of the room, he turned to James. "She's taken care of."

Mercedes took small steps towards the kitchen as she tried to get back into character. When she walked into the kitchen, she finds Jason pouring himself a drink. "Of course you're drinking," she sarcastically said as she walked by the table where he sat.

"How's the view from up there, princess?" Jason asked. He laughed at the girl's glower. "I bet that you never had a drink. You were just a goody two shoes that did everything that was asked."

Without a word, she took the glass from between Jason's fingers. She tilted the glass back against her lips without hesitation. She slammed the glass on the table and turned, trying to hide the burn of the alcohol. It was nothing like what she drunk at Rachel's party. Unable to hold it in, she began to cough.

Jason laughed at the girl in front of him. "Congratulation. You just had your first _real _drink," he said as she finally stopped coughing. "Bourbon."

She rolled her eyes and continued through the kitchen. She reached inside the box for a glass. As she turned, the glass slipped from between her numb fingers. She squatted to pick up the shards, but fell backwards in a daze. She saw Jason enter her view before she was blinded by blur.

Jason scooped the drugged girl into his arms and carried her out of the kitchen. "She's ready to go," he announced.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. **

**I had to write most of this chapter alone, because my cowriter is a little busy. I want to think Piperspoon13 for reading this chapter and giving me feedback. She was a doll.**

**I want to lastly think all the people who've reviewed, followed, faverited, and just simply read my story. I'm glad y'all are sticking in there and excusing all my grammar mistakes. Thank Y'all.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi reader. I just wanted to worn you this is another chapter that you might have to take a little slow. I wrote this chapter alone in three day. There are new characters and I don't give them names immediately. When you do get names, I hope afterwards you'll be able to understand who they are. I also hope you can tell when the POV changes. Please read on.**

* * *

_**Colorado is very bountiful in the spring. The winter snow melts and it's nothing but fields of flowers.**_

_**I got to give it to dad. He chose a good place. We don't live far from a small town. The house is pretty big. Not as big as the house in New York, but it's big. I can't be locked in a room, and I'm able to walk around the house... and out of it. Dad wouldn't like that I leave the house, but he never notices. He's usually in his office. Dustin and Jason are anywhere but in front of the door. I just walk out.**_

_**I was wandering somewhere between the house and the town, when I met a boy, Perry. I wouldn't tell him where I lived, so I meet him near the bridge, where we first met. For the first few meetings, we sat in his car and talked. Now, we drive into town.**_

* * *

"You had to be out of you mind." Perry laughed at the girl sitting in the passenger seat. "It was mid-January and you were wearing a dress. It took me almost an hour to talk you out of the snow."

"I apologize. I should have listened to my dad when he use to say get into a stranger's car," Danielle joked.

Danielle and Perry were in his car, parked in the same spot where they met that cold January day.

"Would you consider me a stranger now?"

"I'm in your car, aren't I?" she questioned with a shrug. She looked out the car's window to see the sun low in the sky. If she leaves now she would be inside the house by sunset. "I should be going now. Bye," She said as she opened the door.

"See ya," he said before Danielle closed the door. He sat, watching the girl following the road home.

* * *

Danielle slowly closed her bedroom door. As she turned, the door reopened.

"Danielle," James called from the doorway. "Come downstairs."

"Why?" She skeptically asked.

"Just come down."

She slowly followed James. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears as they traveled to the first floor. "He know. He knows I left," she thought.

Finally reaching the kitchen, James pulled out a chair for his daughter. "Take a seat."

She sat in the seat and looked around the room. "Where's the two dumbbells?" she asked, noticing the silence.

"I sent Dustin and Jason away for the evening," James said with his back toward her. He turned and placed a cake in front of the girl. "Today's your birthday. Make a wish and blow out your candle."

"I wish..." Danielle sat, thinking of something she wanted. "I wish you'd go to hell." She blew out the candle on the cake and stood from the table.

James caught his daughter's hand before she could get too far. He laid a flat box in front of her. "I have a event to attend back in New York. I feel you should accompany me."

Danielle opened the box to find a white formal dress neatly folded inside it. She lifted the dress. She found a price tag attached to the sleeve. She threw the $8,000 dress on to the back of a chair. "You can shove that dress up your ass," she said, starting to walk away.

Again, James reached out to stop his daughter. "Danielle," he tiredly exhaled, resting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm trying my best with you." He pushed her hair back, only to have it fall back at her shoulder. "I just can't understand why you behave like this. There's no need to be rebellious. You have everything you could want. If there's anything you want I would buy it. I-"

"You can't buy my love and respect." She pulled away from the man in front of her and returned to her room, where she stayed for the remainder of the night.

* * *

Danielle woke early to meet Perry. He said they had a long day ahead, but first he wanted to take her to breakfast at a small dinner in town.

Danielle looked through the pictures on the camera. "These are amazing. Do you know how much you could get for talking pictures like this?"

"I've sold a few to a nature magazine in California, and I wasn't paid as much as you'd think," Perry admitted. "This is really just a hobby."

Danielle continued to go through the photos of the bright flowers and snow covered forest. She looked away from the camera when a woman approached the table.

"Hey," Perry greeted, standing to hug the woman. "Danielle, this is my aunt, July."

"Hi," Danielle said with a smile.

"Hi." July smiled looking at the young girl. "I thought all of Perry's friends left town. Where are you from?"

"New York," she answered. "My dad and I moved here a couple of months ago."

"I rarely hear of people leaving the city for small towns like Langdale, Colorado."

Danielle shrugged. "We just wanted a change in scenery."

July nodded her head in understanding. "Well this is a great place to be." She looked over to see a customer needing service. "It's nice to talk you, but I have customers."

Danielle wave as the woman left. "She nice."

"You wouldn't think that if you lived with her," Perry laughed. "My dad was Mayor of this town for twenty years. I spent so much time with my aunt that I decided to move in with her and my uncle. They own this dinner, and I worked here before it was legal for me to work. For a eight year old, I loved it here. And I got great tips just for being cute," he joked.

"Where's your dad now?"

"He died last year," he answered. "I wasn't too close to him, so I wasn't as sad as my sisters. My Uncle Victor was my father figure," he admitted before returning to his breakfast.

The two continued to talk and eat their breakfast.

"I think we should leave now," Perry suggested.

Danielle looked across the table to see that Perry's plate still had food on it. She raised her eyebrow. "Why?"

"There's a guy that keeps staring at us." He reaches out to stop Danielle from turning to look at the person.

"I want to see who you're talking about," Danielle said. "Describe the guy."

Perry studied the guy on the other side of the room. "He... He's-"

"Perry," Danielle impatiently called.

"No need to rush. Obviously he's not going anywhere," Perry argued. "He has long dark hair. Um… He's wearing a button down shirt and-"

Against Perry's liking, she turned in her chair to see the guy.

She saw the man watching her from across the dinner. Just as Perry described, he had long dark hair and wore a black button down shirt. He body sat still except for his tapping finger and blinking eyes.

Danielle felt paralyzed under his stare. "I'm going to talk to him," she said before standing.

"Danielle, don't," Perry ordered, catching her. He pulled her out of the dinner.

"Why did you do that?" Danielle irritatedly asked Perry. "I was just going to ask him to stop staring at us."

"No, you weren't," Perry argued. "You were going to _tell_ him to stop then threaten to stab him in the eye with a fork if he didn't. I've learned your ways quick."

The two continued to argue outside the dinner, not paying attention to people exiting or entering the building.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

"She's right out there," the man said, not taking his eyes off the girl outside.

They looked out the dinner's front windows to see the girl.

"Dan, you're now entering 'stalker' territory," the brown haired boy joked.

"Maybe," Dan said with a shrug. He watched the couple outside the dinner stop talking and get into a car. "They're going to the park. Let's go." Dan stood and started out the dinner, leaving no time for comments by his company.

* * *

Dan led the group through the park, looking for the young girl.

"Stop," the curly haired boy behind Dan ordered. "Don't you think we're going too far?"

"Simon, no. They're taking pictures. They couldn't have gotten to far into the park."

"That's not what I mean," Simon said, stopping. He exhaled, trying to think of a way to put his words. "We've been here for two weeks. We have no way of really knowing if this girl is the missing girl from Ohio. I think we should just go ba-"

"I want answers," Dan interrupted Simon. "My- Our brother is hiding out in Africa."

"He's not hiding. He's helping the people in poverty."

"No, he's hiding," Dan argued. He shrugged at the fact that his brother was helping the poor. "At least he's putting his half earned medical degree to use," Dan sarcastically said.

"If I had known that you'd try to find Mercedes I would haven't told you all the things Connor told me."

"Connor lied to the cops."

"He didn't lie. He told them all he remembered at the time," Simon argued, defending Connor. "And he's trying to talk to them again."

Days after talking with the FBI agent, Connor remembered a phone conversation he had with Keith Foxx. From the other side of the line he heard someone call Keith Foxx "Judge". Connor began to search through the judges in New York, and finally found James Stone. Connor shared his discovery with his younger brother, who told the oldest brother, Dan.

Using his detective resources, Dan started to hunt for James. He found that James Stone had recently stepped down as Judge and bought a home in Colorado. He packed his bags, ready to travel. He was disappointed that he had two tag alongs.

"Maybe we should stop." Simon looked at the brown haired boy. "Ryan, you said it yourself. We don't have any business here. We shouldn't have come here."

"That was before we found her," Ryan stated. "I'm like Dan. I just want to know why." He looked between the brothers in front of her. "At least your brother is alive. Wren would have never been involved in something like this."

Simon ran his hand through his curly dark hair. He looked forward up the trail to see the dark skinned girl and her partner laughing as they walked in their direction. "Fine," Simon said with a shrug. "You want answers. Let's stop acting like creeps, and talk to her." He started towards the two, ignoring his brother and friend calling for him to stop.

* * *

Danielle and Perry laughed as they walked along the nature trail. They grew quiet as they notice a curly haired boy walking towards them.

"Hey," the curly haired boy greeted after reaching them. "May I speak to you for a moment?" he asked Danielle. He looked over at Perry. "Just you," he said pointing at Danielle.

Danielle looked between Perry and the boy, debating if she should talk to him. She looked behind him and saw a young brunette and the guy from the dinner. "Sure, but we have to stay in the sight of my friend."

The boy nodded in agreement and lead her away from Perry. When they reached the two waiting people the boy introduced his group members. "I'm Simon. This is Dan and Ryan."

Danielle looked at Dan. "You didn't have to stare at me back at the dinner. You were being a freak."

"I apologize, -," He apologized, but stopped, wanting her to say her name.

Ryan watched the girl look over her shoulder to her friend. "What's your name?"

"Danielle."

Ryan and Simon looked at Dan.

"What's your last name?" Dan asked.

"Is that any of your business?" Danielle asked.

Simon stepped in, sensing Danielle's attitude. "We're sorry. We were just looking for someone. Her name is Danielle too, but her last name is Peters," Simon lied.

Irritated, Danielle looked between the three people around her. "My last name isn't Peters, so can I go."

Simon nodded, and Danielle turned.

"Wait," Dan called, causing the girl to stop and turned back towards them. "Have you ever heard of Mercedes Jones."

She looked over her shoulder at Perry then back to Dan "Isn't that the girl from Ohio that ran away?"

"She didn't runaway," Ryan corrected. "She was taken."

Danielle scrunched her face. "Whatever."

"Has anyone told you that you look like her?" Simon asked.

"A few people before I moved here."

"Where did you move from?"

"New York," she simply answered. "Now, can I go? I'm not interested in this little question game you're trying to keep going."

"Yes, you can go," Dan said.

Danielle wasted no time leaving the trio and returning to Perry.

"Do you know them?" Perry asked, looking over Danielle to watch the group talking amongst each other.

"Ya, I knew them back in New York," she lied, not wanting Perry to worry. "They were just traveling across the country. They remembered I moved here, and decided to stop."

"You can go with them. I'll be okay."

Danielle shook her head. "I'll rather stay with you." She grabbed Perry's hand and pulled him along the trail.

* * *

Hours had passed and Danielle hadn't thought about the group since. She was listening to Perry talk about the flower in front of them.

"Natives used Caerulea as a remedy for flu and poison ivy." Perry snapped a picture of the white and lavender flower.

"These are beautiful," Danielle said, studying the flower.

Perry smiled at the girl beside him.

"Danielle!"

Danielle turned, and her smile dropped at the sight.

Jason was walking up the trail. Anger covering his face.

Perry raises his eyebrow watching the scene in front of him. "Old friend from New York?"

Danielle shook her head.

"Danielle, If you don't get here now!" Jason yelled as he continued toward them.

"I have to go," Danielle said. "Bye." She stood and meet Jason before he got too close to Perry.

"We've been looking for you all morning," Jason said with clenched teeth. "Let's go," He ordered, angrily pulling Danielle by her arm.

* * *

The car ride back to the house was silent after the call Jason made, telling everyone he had found her.

Danielle stormed into the house. She wanted to go straight to her room, where she wouldn't be bothered. Passing James on her way to the stairs, he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Why would you leave? You know you can't do that," James said. "I've tried to give you a chance, but I see that I can't trust you like I thought."

Danielle remained silent as she sent him a death glare.

"You were running around with some boy while we've spent hours looking for you," he admitted. "A boy that you probably know almost nothing about."

She freed herself from James. "It's almost no different then me being trapped her with you, _dad_." She started up the stairs and halfway up she turned back to him. "I can take care of myself."

"Not when you're running around acting like a horny child!" James yelled at the girl glaring down at him. He took deep breaths. "I'm getting sick of your attitude and behavior."

"What are you going to do about it?" Danielle sarcastically asked, slowly stepping down. "Hit me?" She looked the man up and down. "You don't have it in you. I have something special for the person that tries though." Danielle looked at Jason then continued up stairs. She locked herself in her room, and waited.

* * *

Danielle peaked out of the room to check if everyone was asleep. She smiled at the silence. Danielle grabbed her bag, locked her door, and went down the stairs. Downstairs, she finds a sleeping Dustin, who was suppose to watch the door so she didn't leave. She laughed at how idiotic the men in her life were. She crept out the house and walked into the night.

* * *

Perry rushed to the door, questioning who could it be at that time of night. He opened the door to find Danielle.

"Hey, Perry."

Perry looked at his friend as if she had lost her mind. "Danielle, it's 3 o'clock in the morning. Wh..."

"I couldn't sleep," she innocently answered. "Your aunt told me where you lived. I was hoping you were up, and we could just talk."

Perry slowly nodded his head and steps aside to let Danielle inside. "You walked here?"

"Ya," Danielle simply answered while looking around the small home.

It was a simple house. Definitely what you'd especially for a twenty year old that lived alone.

"Were you sleeping?"

"No," Perry answered. "I was just watching TV," he said, motioning towards the blanket on the coach and the TV with a detective show on it. He sat on the couch and motioned for Danielle to sit beside him. "What's wrong? What did you want to talk about?"

She shrugged. "I thought you'd have something to talk about."

He sat back on the couch questioning if he should ask Danielle the question he's been thinking about since she left earlier. "What was all that about at the park?"

She sat quietly, trying to think of something to tell him. "My brother was just a little upset," she lied. "He was looking for me all morning."

Perry thought back to the enraged man and Danielle. He saw almost no similarities between their appearances.

"My dad married a lot," she explained, reading Perry's facial expression.

He shrugged, deciding to let it go. "Do you have anymore siblings?"

She thought back to what Peter said in the office. "I have another brother, but I've never met him." She looked around the room, wanting to switch the attention off of her. "How many sisters do you have?"

"I have four sisters. My three youngest sisters are in a boarding school in Texas. My oldest sister went to New York, and met some guy. Now she lives in Ohio with her son." He paused looking for something different to take about. "Have you ever watched this show?"

Danielle and Perry stayed up the rest of the night talking and watching TV.

* * *

**Thx for reading. Please review.**

**I had a lot of free time lately, and used it to make a site for this story. It mostly has face claimers. If you're interested the link is in my bio. I think I've covered the most important characters. The site can be viewed from any device. Let me know what you think of it.**

**Thankfully, I'll have my great co-writer back for the next (and FINAL) chapter, so the chapter will be done soon.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello reader. The last chapter I shared the website with the face claimers on them, but I didn't know that there was a problem with the link in my bio. If you're interested you can find the site's address in my bio. You would have to copy the link and paste it into your address bar. The face claimers have changed since I've first revealed them, so I'm going to go back and share the site in a earlier chapter.  
**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"Is it a bad time?" Ryan asked his friend's brother, studying the doctor equipment he wore.

"No," Connor answered. "Where's Dan?"

"We waited until he got into the shower," Simon answered.

Simon and Ryan were talking to Connor through a webcam. They had to tell him about "Danielle".

"Did you talk to the police?" Simon asked.

Connor nodded. "They're looking into it."

"We found Mercedes," Ryan said.

"We think we found her," Simon corrected. "We can't prove it. She said her name was Danielle."

"I think she's being forced to go by that name," Ryan admitted. "She's really in character."

"Did you see Stone?" Connor asked?

"We saw her with someone," Ryan answered.

"But it wasn't the guy from the picture you showed us," Simon continued.

"What about Jason or Dustin?"

Ryan shook his head. "After we talked to the girl, Simon made us come back to the motel."

"Dan was already creeping her out. He was following her yesterday morning."

"Leave it to Detective Dan Isaac to be a freak," Connor joked. "I really have to speak to him."

Before either boy could stand to get Dan, he was coming out of the bathroom.

"Dan," Simon called. "Connor wants to talk to you."

Dan shooed his youngest brother out of the chair. "Did you talk to the police?" he asked as soon as he sat down.

"Yes," Connor answered. "Simon and Ryan said that you think you found Mercedes."

"Regardless of what Simon says, we found her."

"And how are you sure?"

"You can tell just by looking at her. She looks exactly the same. I'm not going to be fooled by a haircut and a fake name."

"What kidnapped person would accept a name, and not tell someone the truth when they're asked about it," Simon asked from the background.

"A kidnapped person that's forced to," Ryan responded. "She might know better than to try to tell someone the truth, or else she'll get hurt."

"When I told you to do research, I didn't mean watch a marathon of kidnapping movies and crime scene investigation shows," Simon joked with his friend.

Connor smirked at how Simon and Ryan's friendship was so similar to his with Wren. Wren and Ryan were so much alike. Everyone that knew them in their hometown in Michigan would call them "mind twins". They both loved movies, sports, and mysteries, and had good hearts.

"Well what kidnapper would let her just walk around the town?" Simon questioned.

"They... I don't know!" Ryan admitted. "But-"

"My point exactly. It's not her."

"Oh," Ryan said with excitement. "That guy she was with is her kidnapper."

Ryan's explication sounded so crazy that even Dan had to turn to look at the kid. "He takes pictures of flowers and butterflies. He's probably the least expected to put together a plan for kidnapping."

"Hear me out," Ryan said under the looks. "Maybe the judge was a cover for the boy we saw her with. He saw Mercedes as someone who would be a great model to photograph, or something like that, and told the judge to do what he had to do to get her down here. They've bonded, and now, she's lying for him," Ryan explained. "There's a name for that. Lima syndrome?"

"That's when the abductors begin to feel sympathy for their hostages- like Wren and Connor did," Simon explained to his friend.

Ryan shrugged. "Well, reverse Lima syndrome."

Simon laughed. "You mean Stockholm syndrome."

Ryan nodded, thankful that his friend knew what he meant.

Simon sat back, thinking. "You might be right," Simon said. "When we spoke to her yesterday, she said we had to stay in his eyesight."

"And she looked back at him to let him know that she wasn't telling us anything."

Dan rolled his eyes at the two. Dan has listened to Ryan and Simon make theories and debate them all night. Although this was the first time they agreed, Dan was tired of listening to them. "I tried my hardest to leave you two in Michigan," he freely admitted before turning back to the laptop.

"I knew it was a bad idea for you guys to go to Colorado," Connor said. "Go home," he ordered them. Connor looked away from the screen at a woman who needed him. "I have to go," he announced. "I'm serious. Go home and let the FBI handle it." He closed the computer and went to help the woman.

"You're not leaving, are you?" Simon asked, watching his brother stand from the chair.

"You know me so well," Dan said, ruffling his brother's hair. "Get ready. We have a busy day."

* * *

"I have to ask. What are you going to do with all that rope?" Perry asked, as he drove.

Danielle finished stuffing the long rope into her bag. "I saw a blog that taught you how to make different things with rope. I just wanted to try."

Perry nodded as he continued to drive.

"I might even make you something," Danielle offered. "Me being your only friend."

"You are not my only friend," Perry corrected with a laugh."You're my only friend in town. They all went to college."

"Why didn't you go to college?"

"I really didn't have that as a option," he admitted. "Some say that I tried to blackmail my high school teacher. My teacher graded girls higher if they did him a _favor_. Trying to bring the story to the light, I wrote a article for the city paper. The teacher said that the article was a lie, and that I had wrote it out of anger that I was barely passing his class."

"So what happened?" Danielle asked.

"The story had brought so much attention to little Langdale. My dad didn't like that one bit. He didn't want his town and his family to look bad. He told everyone that I was mentally ill, and had written the story seeking attention." Perry shook his head. "After that, my Aunt June started to homeschool me. When came the time to apply to colleges, I guess none of them wanted a student that would do anything for attention. I went through all that because I was doing what good journalist do."

"Do you regret it?"

"I don't," he answered without thinking. "I knew the truth and I have hundreds of other people that believed me."

The car was silent afterwards.

Danielle sat straight in her seat, watching Perry drive past the spot where he always dropped her off. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I'd drop you off at home," Perry answered. "You just have to point-"

"You thought wrong," she interrupted. "Stop," she frantically ordered. When Perry stopped, she got out the car. She closed the door, without saying goodbye.

* * *

Danielle peeked through the glass window on the front door to check that the entrance was clear. She slowly entered the house and closed the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. As she reached the stairs she heard voices upstairs.

"Danielle, this is the last time I will say this," James said impatiently, twisting the doorknob to Danielle's locked room. "Open the door." He again twisted and tugged at the knob before turning to the two boys behind him. He pointed back at the door, ordering them to open it.

Dustin pushed himself off the wall and stood in front of the door. He kicked the door causing it to fly open. He stepped into the room, but didn't find Danielle. "She's-"

"What the hell?" Danielle asked from the stairs.

James began to grow angry with the thought of her leaving the house. "Where have you been?" he asked.

It only took Danielle half a second to think of a lie. "I was in the backyard." She knew that only Jason went into the backyard to smoke a cigarette, but over the last two months, his smokes have become less frequent.

"What were you doing out there?"

"I was thinking," she said before making the most innocent face she could create. "I'm sorry about yesterday." She slowly wrapped her arms around James's mid as a hug. "I knew I shouldn't have left, but I had to get out. I only did that once, and I feel awful," she lied. She looked up at James as a tear began to run down her cheek. Once the tear was gone, she rested her head on James's chest, and continued her story. "I just went to the park then a boy came up to me. I promise, we only talked about the plants and animals in the park." Danielle buried her face into her father's chest.

James's mood soften, believing that he made the young girl feel bad. "It's okay," he said, comforting the girl. "Well, I still have to go to that event tonight," he said, petting Danielle's hair. "If you want to get out the house, you can go get the dress and come with me."

"No," Danielle quickly answered, wiping all emotion out of her voice. She looked up at the questioning look on James's face. "I don't deserve to go anywhere after my behavior," she said, returning to her innocent tone. "I just want to lie down." She watched as James and Dustin left the scene. As she began for her room, Jason reached his arm out, blocking her path.

Jason glared down at the girl. "I know you're up to something."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "What now?"

"You were not outside. I was just out there."

"And what were you doing out there?" she sarcastically asked.

"It's none of your damn business what I was doing," he snapped, causing the girl to smirk at the reaction she got out of him. "I see right through you. I see through those eyelashes and that innocent act."

"You do?"

"I do. You're plotting something, and I will figure it out."

"Well, let me know when you do," she said. She moved Jason's armed and went onto her room to wait for her father to leave.

* * *

Perry walked behind the Dinner's counter. "Do you need help today?" he asked his aunt and uncle.

"Do we ever need help?"

"No," Perry answered his aunt. "But I'm going to help out anyway," Perry said.

"Just know that you aren't going to be payed," his uncle joked.

"Well, I'm warning you ahead of time that I'm going to need to borrow some money soon."

Perry walked to a table that need to be served. He wrote down the table number on the pad. "Welcome..." He stopped talking when he looked at the seated people.

* * *

Danielle woke from her nap, ready to spring into action. She didn't know how long she had slept, but she was sure that she slept through her father's goodbye. Danielle reached deep into her closet and pulled out the duffel bag she had stolen from Jason's closet. After think hard about it, she decided that there was no better time to do what she had spent weeks preparing for. She reached into the bag and removed the rag and bottle of clear liquid.

She hid the chloroform covered rag behind her back as she entered Dustin's room.

Dustin lowered his phone, seeing the girl standing over him. "What?" he asked, lying on the bed.

Danielle stood at the edge of Dustin's bed. "When did my dad leave?" she asked.

Dustin shrugged. "An hour ago." After Dustin's answer, the conversation fell flat. He watched the girl, waiting for her to say something or leave.

In the moment of silence, Danielle launched forward, covering his mouth and nose with the rag. She struggled to hold her balance as Dustin wristlets for freedom. She moved the rag when Dustin's body became still. "One down," she mumbled to herself before leaving to find her next target. She stopped in the middle of the staircase after noticing that Jason was on the phone.

"Didn't your mom tell you that you couldn't do that? Camille?" Jason called into the phone. "Camille, you're not listening."

Deciding that she didn't care about the conversation, Danielle returned to her room, and traded the rag for a orange pill bottle. She poured a few of pills into the palm of her hand before leaving to go downstairs.

"Jacob didn't tell you to-" Jason stopped mid-sentence, watching the girl pass him. "I have to go. We'll finish talking about this later." he said into the phone. He ended his call before leaving to investigate the girl. He entered the kitchen to find her leaning against the counter, gazing down into the glass in her hand. "What's wrong with you now?" he asked, not caring for the girl's constant mood swings.

Danielle continued to silently look down at the water in the glass as the voices in her mind battled for full control. "This isn't you. Stop this. You can't go through with it," one voice said. The other said, "You've started this, so finish it. Don't you dare back down." Finally, one over powered the other.

"People can go through life wearing this mask; pretending to be something they aren't," Danielle lowly said. "Sometimes, you can forget who's underneath it."

"What the hell?" Jason mumbled to himself, completely bewildered by her.

Danielle finally looked up."Nothing." She turned and dumped the water into the sink. "I need something strong," she admitted, pulling a small bottler of alcohol from the cabinet. She unscrewed the cap, held it out to Jason. "First swig?" she offered. "I'm sure you have some problems you want to drink down too."

Jason hesitate, but took the bottle. He took a gulp, and when he held it out to return it back to Danielle, she shook her head and pushed the bottle back towards Jason.

"I think I should go lie back down." She turned and walked away, trying to hide her smirk that was beginning to form. From the first step, she heard the sound of glass breaking and a thud.

* * *

Dustin slowly woke to find that he was tied to a chair. He looked to his left to see Jason passed out and tied like him. "Hey!" he yelled for Danielle. He didn't know where she was, but he did know she was doing all this.

"You don't have to yell," Danielle said from behind him. "I'm right here." She moved to stand in front of Dustin. She topped her finger against her glass of water as she watched the two in front of her. She sipped from the glass before throwing the water in the unconscious boy's face.

Jason jumped awake. He glared at the girl as the water dripped down his face.

Danielle shook her head. "It's sad how dumb you two are, especially you, Jason." She turned to get something from the corner. When she returned she dropped the duffle bag at Jason's feet. "Don't keep souvenirs," she said. She looked into the faces of the two. "There is no words that can describe the hatred I have for you two. All I can say is that it grows stronger every time I look at you two." She squeezed her fists, trying to keep her emotions from taking over her body. It wasn't the time. "I promise that tonight you will reap what you sow."

Jason laughed as he looked at the girl. "You're trying to take control. I think that's really cute," he mocked.

Danielle reached for the duffle. "Do you think this is cute?" Danielle pulled out a gun then tossed the bag away. She pointed the weapon at the center of Jason's forehead.

"You're not going to shoot," Jason said confidently.

She turned the safety off and pushed down the gun's hammer. "You wanna bet?"

A knock on the door caught everyone's attention.

Danielle glared between Jason and Dustin. "Don't say one word." She left the room and hid the gun. She jerked the front door open, and her eyes grew at the sight.

"Hey, Danielle."

"Perry?" Before she could stop him, Perry entered the house. She chased after Perry to stop him. "What are you doing here?" She looked around him to see the three guys from the park. "Why are they here?"

"I overheard them talking, and they need to see your dad?" Perry said.

"Yes, I do," Simon said, turning Danielle towards him. "I got, um, into some trouble," he lied, buying time for Perry, Dan, and Ryan to search the room. "Perry said your dad could help me. I need someone who knows the law like the back of their hand."

"What did you do?"

Simon hesitated to think of something to say. "I didn't do anything, and that's the point. I really need to know if your dad can help me. I can't go to prison. I've heard what happens to people like me. Look at me."

Danielle raised her eyebrows at the boy in front of her. She had to admit that with his round face that he looked like a grown baby. "My dad is out of town. I'll give the message to him, but you-" Danielle turned after hearing a crash behind her. She sees the shattered glass at Ryan's feet.

Ryan's throat went dry, as he meets Danielle's angry glare. "I- I am so sorry."

Danielle's attention was diverted by Perry, who was poking around the couch. "Perry," Danielle called, watching him lift the gun from under the couch cushions. "Give me that." She slowly started towards him, but he backed away. "Perry, you're overthinking. It's not what you think."

Perry slowly backed away from the girl until he stumbled over a step leading into another room. When he turned around his jaw dropped.

He saw two guys with their backs towards him. He saw the rope tying them down to the chairs they sat in.

Danielle snatched the gun from Perry's hand, regaining his attention.

"What have you done?" Perry asked.

There was no way she was going to let them go. They would only tell and make her plan messy.

Danielle turned, and pointed the gun at the three guys behind her. "Get in here," she ordered, forcing the guys into the room. "I got you two some company," Danielle joked as she added chairs to the circle.

Perry silently watched Danielle tie Ryan, Dan, and Simon onto chairs. He was pushed into the chair when it was his turn. "Danielle, you don't have to do all this. You can let everyone go, and we'll over look everything. Danielle," he called, not getting the attention of the girl that finished tying his legs to the chair's. "Just stop and think. Mercedes, stop. Ouch!" Perry cried out as Danielle pulled the rope tightly around his hand.

Danielle stepped in front of Perry. "There is no Mercedes," she said angrily. "She is long gone. She broke too easy. She was weak."

Perry was in shock. Everything the guys had told him about Danielle/ Mercedes was true, and now she might have become a murderer.

Danielle took the boys' cellphones and started out the room. "If I hear a word from in here, I'll go ahead and put bullets in all six of your skulls," she said from the room's entrance.

She entered the kitchen and pulled a bottle of brown liquor from a cabinet. She poured herself a glass to drink. "I finally know why Jason drunk and did drugs as much as he did," she thought. "This shit is hard as hell." She sipped the drink and placed the glass back on the counter. "I can't drink too much. I don't want to be sloppy like them."

She returned to the room with her hostages. "Wow." She smiled at the silence. "We might not have any problems." She stepped into the center of the circle. "We're gonna play the question game. I'm sure you three know it," she said pointing at Dan, Simon, and Ryan. "You're going to answer every question I ask. Let's start with Perry." She stepped in front of Perry. "How did you know where I lived?"

Perry looked around to see all eyes on him, but the girl's eyes burned. "A few weeks ago, I got out and followed you."

"Why would you do that?"

"I was concerned. It was a long walk from the bridge, and I wanted to know why would you rather walk in the cold than to let me drive you home. I was being a friend."

"A friend would have listened when I said not to worry, and that I can take care of myself." Danielle looked into Perry's eyes. She didn't need him to be concerned for her. She moved to stand in front the unwanted treo. "Why are you three here?"

The three looked at eachother before Dan decided to answer. "We were looking for you, Mercedes."

"I told you that I wasn't Mercedes," She roared. "You couldn't have left it at that. You had to keep digging, and bring Perry into it. Who are you to make this any of your business? You had nothing to do with this. I-"

"Our brothers," Simon interrupted. "Connor was our brother," he admitted, peeking over at Dan.

"And Wren was mine," Ryan added.

Danielle's lips screeched into a smile at the information. She moved behind Ryan and placed her hands on his shoulder. Looking across the circle, she asked, "Do either of you want to tell him what you did to his brother?" She grew unhappy with the silence from Dustin and Jason. "Tell him!"

"We killed him," Dustin openly admitted with no emotion.

She wasn't satisfied with that answer. "Tell him how."

"I took into the woods, and shot him." Dustin shrugged, not knowing any other way to put the truth.

"And why did you decide to kill him?"

"Because he was acting like a pussy," Jason answered, not showing any sympathy for the deceased's younger brother that sat across from him. "And he was wasting our time."

"It's okay," Danielle said as she returned back into the circle. "It's better that he's gone." She shrugged her shoulders. "What bad happens to the dead?" She looked to the brothers. "They would have done the same to Connor, but he got away."

"Why are you doing all this?" Dan asked.

Danielle smirked and leaned into his face. "I like being bad," she simply answered then straightened back up. "Jason use to be bad, but that started to change a few weeks ago. You acted different; you didn't drink, your temper wasn't as short," she listed, looking down at Jason. "But never would I have guessed it was a girl that changed you."

Jason scrunched his eyes in anger.

She reached into her back pocket, and pulled out Jason's phone. She had been though his phone before, but now, she's doing it to show that she had power over him. She took a second to tap though the phone. "I really think it's cute that you gave all the money my dad gave you to your kids." She looked down at the picture of a small boy and girl holding a newborn baby girl. "Camille, Jacob, and Vanessa," she listed the kids' names.

Jason jerked in his seat, trying to break the ropes. If he could just get free, this would all be over. He stopped moving when Danielle pointed the gun towards him.

"Behave," she ordered.

"Like I said before, you're not going to fire that. You probably don't even have it loaded."

"Not loaded?" Bold, she fired a bullet, shattering a vase, and pointed it back at Jason. "I still have five bullets in this gun, and I know where more are. Don't think I will hesitate to put a few in you right now." She silently waited, daring Jason to try something.

"Stop," Perry ordered. He was fed up with her acting like this. "I don't care who you are, Danielle or Mercedes, but you need to stop this."

Danielle rolled her eyes at Perry. She took Dustin's phone and unlocked it with the password 5674, spelling his son's name with the letters under the numbers. "Perry, do you know this kid?" she asked, holding the phone to Perry's face.

Perry looked at the picture of the little blonde boy. Any other time, Perry would have smiled at the kid making the funny face in the picture, but he knew that wasn't the place or time. "My nephew, Josh," he answered.

"I just wanted to be sure," Danielle mumbled before she locked the phone and put it in her pocket. "Perry, this is Dustin. Josh got all his looks from this guy," she announced, pointing to the blonde beside Perry. "I hope the apple doesn't fall to close to the tree."

Perry looked at Dustin, but didn't say anything about it. "Dan- Merced-"

"Shut up," She mumbled, interrupting the boy. She looked beside Perry to see Ryan watching her. "What?"

Ryan jumped at the acknowledgement. He shook his head, deciding to stay quiet.

Dan spoke up for the kid. "He's scared," he stated. "You're waving a gun, threatening people. Why wouldn't he be?"

"And you're not?" she daringly asked.

"No, I'm not," he answered. He looked at the three youngest boys. "Let these three go, and I'll stay. You can kill me if you want, but you need to let them leave."

"No one's leaving," she said. "Besides, I'm going to kill you anyway. I'm going to kill everyone. It's all apart of the plan."

"They're not going to tell anyone about this." Dan looked to see nods from Perry, Simon, and Ryan. "Really, why are you doing all this? Do you want attention? Were you board? Did you just like the idea of something like this?"

"I'm doing it to get even," she answered then looked over her shoulder at Dustin and Jason with a sinister look. "But you four are here because you don't know when to stop. You know too much." She looked at the people around her and decided that she needed another drink. "We're going to take a small break before we move into our next round," she announced, stepping out of the circle.

As she entered the kitchen, she was grabbed and forced against the wall. The gun was taken from her before she could react.

"What do you think you're doing?" James asked, tightly squeezing Danielle's arm. He scowled down at the girl that stayed silent. "Talk!" he ordered, jerking her.

"Why are you back?" she questioned, knowing he wasn't suppose to be back for another four hours.

"Plans change."

After sitting at the airport for hours, waiting for his delayed flight, he was hit with a random sensation, ordering him to return home. Listening to his gut, he entered the house through the back door. Before he could close the door, he heard a gun fire. He slowly stepped forward to peek around the corner. He saw Danielle standing in the center of people tied down. He decided to wait and watch.

He leans to look into the room that Danielle has exited. "Let's go," James ordered, pushing the girl back into the room. James tightened his grip on the back of Danielle's sweater as the two got closer to the group. He moved her behind Dustin. "Untie them."

"The knots are too tight. I need a knife"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" James sarcastically asked, knowing she was trying to deceive him. He pushed her onto her knees. "Untie them, now." As the girl worked on the knot, James studied the foreigners. He could guess who they were from their similar looks to Connor and Wren, but he didn't care to acknowledge them any further than his long glance. "So what was your little plan?"

"Nothing," Danielle mumbled as she finished untying Dustin's hand.

"You wouldn't have done all this for nothing." Unpleased with her silence, he snatched her up her by her forearm.

Danielle felt small under her father's anger filled glare, but she refused to show it. "I was going to kill everyone, and blame you," she admitted. "You murdered them then went to New York, like you did nothing. I finally built up enough courage to come out of hiding, and I went to the police. I was lucky to have gotten away."

Although James was angered by Danielle's plan to frame him for murder, he couldn't resist chuckling at how well together it was. He let the girl go so she could untie Jason. "I see you're trigger happy," he smirked opening the barrel of the gun. He continued to inspect the gun until he heard racket beside him.

Jason and Danielle wrestled on the ground. Neither willing to surrender, they continued fighting as Dustin and James tried to separate them.

Danielle tried to push Dustin away as he lifted her up and tried to block her from Jason. She openly spat insults and threats at Jason as he did the same to her. "Try harder next-."

"Hey. Hey. HEY!" James yelled, silencing everyone. "Dustin, go get your thing, and bring down some of Danielle's also." He turned as Dustin started to walk away. "You," he called as he pulled Jason down by his shirt. "I told you not to touch her again. Remember what I said I would do if I saw you do that?" He stuck the gun under Jason's nose. James looked the bold boy up and down. He dismissed Jason with a shove.

Jason gave the father daughter pair a dirty look as he passed them to join Dustin upstairs.

"I can see that we're leaving town." Danielle said. She turned towards the captives still tied to their seats. "I guess you'll give them a little hush money, or you could bring them with us." Danielle's lips curled into a sinister smirk. "I wouldn't mind the second option."

James slowly turned causing his daughter to drop her smile. "We wouldn't have to do any of this if you didn't-" James knew Danielle had blocked him out when she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Listen to me!" James loudly ordered, scaring the girl in front of him. "You're the cause of everything happening right now."

"I'm the cause?"

"Yes!" James snapped. "Take responsibility for this. You lured-"

The argument was interrupted when they heard the front door opened with a loud thud.

"FBI," the agent announced, leading a line of more agents. "Let us see your hands."

Out of fear, Danielle wasted no time before obeying.

James was frozen, staring at the agents' guns. He knew it was the end of the line, but he refused to surrender. James tightened his grip on the gun as he watched the agent order other agents to search upstairs. He knew that they were there for the girl, and as cliche as it was, he had to use her to get away. James pulled her in front of him and placed the muzzle of the gun on her temple.

The agents raised their guns higher, ready to protect the young girl.

"Stone, don't make this difficult. Just give yourself up," the agent said.

James shook his head and tightened his grip. He watched as agents brought Dustin and Jason down the stairs. "Put away your weapons and let us go."

"We can't do that, Stone. We can't negotiate with you." The agent could see that James was showing no sign of waving the white flag. "We have to get Mercedes home. She has family and friends that miss her."

James wasn't interested in listening to anything about Mercedes's life, but he was interested in getting Danielle and himself away. "You have until the count of ten to call off your team, or I'll shoot someone. I don't care who. One, two." He moved the gun to point it at the agent. "Three, four, five." James points at Dustin and Jason, then the agent between them.

"Let's be rational," the agents said, trying to get control of the situation. "Put the gun down."

"Call off your team," James loudly ordered, getting irritated that he wasn't intimidating the agents. James turned and pointer the gun at Perry. "Six." He moved the gun to Simon, Dan and Ryan. "Seven, eight, nine."

Everyone jumped hearing a gun go off.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. This was a difficult chapter to word, so, as authors, we're having a bit of mixed feelings, so your reviews would be treasured.  
**

**I know that in the last chapter, I said this would be the last chapter, but I was wrong. At first we wanted to end the story with a big suspense. Ending it right here would be too big of a suspense with a lot open. I hope you guys will stick with me for one more chapter.**


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